WinAmp v2.79 sound is a lot louder than previous versions

mlmatthews · 22nd March 2002, 17:02

Computer : HP Vectra VL600 MT
OS : Windows 2000 SP 2
Sound card : Crystal Semiconductor SoundFusion (tm)
Sound driver : Microsoft v5.0.2184.1
WinAmp : 2.79

Hello,

I was using WinAmp v2.78 and noticed this morning that version 2.79 was released. I then downloaded the full version and promptly installed it (without uninstalling the previous version). After installation, I then ran the application.

I have noticed that the sound volume is considerably higher than normal. I am using the "Crossfading DirectSound output v1.34" plug-in, as in previous versions of WinAmp I have used the DirectSound output plug-in.

Normally, I listen to a sound volume of 33%. After installing v2.79, I noticed I have to crank down the volume in WinAmp to about 5% to get the same sound volume level. My OS sound volume levels have not been changed since installing WinAmp 2.79 (the system sounds are at their normal volume levels). In general, the sound volume levels in WinAmp 2.79 are a LOT higher than in 2.77 or 2.78.

In the DirectSound output plug-in, there is a slider at the bottom of the window. It is originally set to -40 dB. I tried increasing and decreasing the value with the slider, but it doesn't affect the volume of the music playback. I clicked the "Help" button, but there wasn't any information on the web page about the slider.

Is it just me, or is the DirectSound plug-in in the WinAmp 2.79 just outputting a higher volume sound?

By the way, I really like the WinAmp player! Keep up the good work.

-Michael

AD22 · 22nd March 2002, 17:21

I think the sound is louder. I was hesitant about downloading this after posting earlier today. However, after manually going in and altering the settings in 2.79 I haven't experienced any issues (yet) when surfing the internet and opening programs while listening. The funny thing is I adjusted 2.78 for the most part the same way I did 2.79 and still 2.78 would skip. I also cleared my IE cache and rebooted Windows just to make sure 2.79 was still working great (not skipping). Well, it's working good so far. I'm not going to get over excited because chances are if I do, I'll start to experience problems

22nd March 2002, 22:30

It is loiuder. Just adjust the volume slider within Winamp.

mlmatthews · 22nd March 2002, 22:44

Well, yeah, adjusting the slider on the face of Winamp is the quick answer (adjusting the slider in the plug-in controls doesn't seem to do anything at all, I've tried it). But doing that changes the use of Winamp from previous versions. So instead of my normal 33% volume, I'm now at 5%, which means I have lost a lot of flexibility in the volume range with Winamp 2.79. If I want to restore my previous flexibility, I have to increase the OS volume level or the speaker volume level, which will make the system sounds too loud. Besides, it doesn't address the issue of why does this happen with Winamp 2.79 and not 2.78 or 2.77.

I would consider this a break in the usability of Winamp. In previous versions, v2.78 and earlier, I used the DirectSound plug-in because changing the volume in Winamp didn't change my OS sound volume, like it did with the winamp waveOut plug-in (RealAudio Player's sound volume slider adjusts the OS sound volume, which is one of the reasons why I really hate RealAudio Player). Now, in order to get the same kind of usability with Winamp 2.79, I have to alter my OS sound settings or my speaker settings, which affects everything else outside of Winamp, which is not a good thing.

mlmatthews · 22nd March 2002, 22:50

Oops - I made a boo boo in the previous reply. By just adjusting the sound volume slider on the face of Winamp, I will have to *decrease* the OS sound volume or the speaker volume in order to have Winamp 2.79 at 33% sound volume sound the same as 33% volume in Winamp 2.77 or 2.78. This will make all OS sounds and application sounds outside of Winamp a lot fainter.

22nd March 2002, 23:24

First, Crossfading Direct Sound is a completely different output plug then the original DDS plug. The original had a problem with being much quitter then wave out. This was fixed in the new DS plug. Of course if you were used to the old one it would seem louder,

The db slider has to do with gap removal.

But unlike previous versions of Winamp in the new DS plug the volume slider is NOT tied to the WAVE control. I have Winamp volume centered around 50% and Wave and master set to maintain other system sounds levels.

mlmatthews · 23rd March 2002, 00:00

I changed the output plug-in to "Winamp2 waveOut plug-in v1.0". The sound levels are the same in 2.79 as with the DirectSound plug-in (that is, way louder than in previous versions). I've even tried exiting Winamp and opening Winamp to see if that would change anything and even restarted the system.

I have attached a GIF file of a screenshot of the waveOut settings. Maybe my problems are just because I don't have the correct plug-in settings (I'm using the defaults).

After changing to the "Winamp2 waveOut plug-in v1.0" plug-in, I started playing with the Volume Control to re-adjust the OS levels. I cranked down the Wave Balance volume so that 33% volume on Winamp wasn't so loud (it was comparable to previous versions of Winamp). But the system alert volume was too low. When I adjusted the Volume Control (which controls the system beep volume), the Winamp sound went up, which defeated the purpose of adjusting Volume Control so Winamp had 2.79 had comparable sound levels.

Either I am doing something totally wrong, something fundamentally changed in the sound output plug-ins in Winamp 2.79, or Microsoft put too many sound volume controls into Windows.

peter · 23rd March 2002, 00:54

Quote:

Originally posted by mlmatthews
Either I am doing something totally wrong, something fundamentally changed in the sound output plug-ins in Winamp 2.79, or Microsoft put too many sound volume controls into Windows.

no, yes and yes. waveOut plugin changes global windows volume on win2k/xp (that's windows stupidity), DirectSound volume is independent from global volume settings, and its also relative to global waveOut volume. hope this clears things a bit.

mlmatthews · 23rd March 2002, 01:11

Thanks for the help. I'll just stick with the DirectSound plug-in for a while and see how well I adjust. With Winamp 2.79 I'll try a regular volume of somewhere between 5% and 13%, as that seems to be similar to what I am used to from earlier versions of Winamp (right now, a volume of 50% is way too loud, with all of my OS sound levels and speaker levels the same as before).

I will admit that when using the new DirectSound plug-in, the music fading out when I click Pause or Stop or exit Winamp sounds pretty neat.

peter · 23rd March 2002, 01:23

wouldn't it be more simple to reduce global volume in windows' volume control, then use full range of Winamp's volume ?

DJ Egg · 23rd March 2002, 07:41

You could also try turning the preamp slider down a bit in the EQ

mlmatthews · 23rd March 2002, 20:21

Adjusting the pre-amp in the Equalizer window seems to work pretty well. I haven't paid it much attention other than just setting a preset and the nforgetting about it. Thanks for the help.

22nd March 2002, 17:02	#1
mlmatthews Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 6	WinAmp v2.79 sound is a lot louder than previous versions Computer : HP Vectra VL600 MT OS : Windows 2000 SP 2 Sound card : Crystal Semiconductor SoundFusion (tm) Sound driver : Microsoft v5.0.2184.1 WinAmp : 2.79 Hello, I was using WinAmp v2.78 and noticed this morning that version 2.79 was released. I then downloaded the full version and promptly installed it (without uninstalling the previous version). After installation, I then ran the application. I have noticed that the sound volume is considerably higher than normal. I am using the "Crossfading DirectSound output v1.34" plug-in, as in previous versions of WinAmp I have used the DirectSound output plug-in. Normally, I listen to a sound volume of 33%. After installing v2.79, I noticed I have to crank down the volume in WinAmp to about 5% to get the same sound volume level. My OS sound volume levels have not been changed since installing WinAmp 2.79 (the system sounds are at their normal volume levels). In general, the sound volume levels in WinAmp 2.79 are a LOT higher than in 2.77 or 2.78. In the DirectSound output plug-in, there is a slider at the bottom of the window. It is originally set to -40 dB. I tried increasing and decreasing the value with the slider, but it doesn't affect the volume of the music playback. I clicked the "Help" button, but there wasn't any information on the web page about the slider. Is it just me, or is the DirectSound plug-in in the WinAmp 2.79 just outputting a higher volume sound? By the way, I really like the WinAmp player! Keep up the good work. -Michael

22nd March 2002, 17:21	#2
AD22 Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3	I agree with you I think the sound is louder. I was hesitant about downloading this after posting earlier today. However, after manually going in and altering the settings in 2.79 I haven't experienced any issues (yet) when surfing the internet and opening programs while listening. The funny thing is I adjusted 2.78 for the most part the same way I did 2.79 and still 2.78 would skip. I also cleared my IE cache and rebooted Windows just to make sure 2.79 was still working great (not skipping). Well, it's working good so far. I'm not going to get over excited because chances are if I do, I'll start to experience problems

23rd March 2002, 07:41	#11
DJ Egg Techorator Winamp & Shoutcast Team Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 35,894	You could also try turning the preamp slider down a bit in the EQ Playlist -\|- Twitter

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22nd March 2002, 22:30	#3
Sawg Guest Posts: n/a	It is loiuder. Just adjust the volume slider within Winamp.

22nd March 2002, 22:44	#4
mlmatthews Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 6	Well, yeah, adjusting the slider on the face of Winamp is the quick answer (adjusting the slider in the plug-in controls doesn't seem to do anything at all, I've tried it). But doing that changes the use of Winamp from previous versions. So instead of my normal 33% volume, I'm now at 5%, which means I have lost a lot of flexibility in the volume range with Winamp 2.79. If I want to restore my previous flexibility, I have to increase the OS volume level or the speaker volume level, which will make the system sounds too loud. Besides, it doesn't address the issue of why does this happen with Winamp 2.79 and not 2.78 or 2.77. I would consider this a break in the usability of Winamp. In previous versions, v2.78 and earlier, I used the DirectSound plug-in because changing the volume in Winamp didn't change my OS sound volume, like it did with the winamp waveOut plug-in (RealAudio Player's sound volume slider adjusts the OS sound volume, which is one of the reasons why I really hate RealAudio Player). Now, in order to get the same kind of usability with Winamp 2.79, I have to alter my OS sound settings or my speaker settings, which affects everything else outside of Winamp, which is not a good thing.

22nd March 2002, 22:50	#5
mlmatthews Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 6	Oops - I made a boo boo in the previous reply. By just adjusting the sound volume slider on the face of Winamp, I will have to decrease the OS sound volume or the speaker volume in order to have Winamp 2.79 at 33% sound volume sound the same as 33% volume in Winamp 2.77 or 2.78. This will make all OS sounds and application sounds outside of Winamp a lot fainter.

22nd March 2002, 23:24	#6
Sawg Guest Posts: n/a	First, Crossfading Direct Sound is a completely different output plug then the original DDS plug. The original had a problem with being much quitter then wave out. This was fixed in the new DS plug. Of course if you were used to the old one it would seem louder, The db slider has to do with gap removal. But unlike previous versions of Winamp in the new DS plug the volume slider is NOT tied to the WAVE control. I have Winamp volume centered around 50% and Wave and master set to maintain other system sounds levels.

23rd March 2002, 01:11	#9
mlmatthews Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 6	Thanks for the help. I'll just stick with the DirectSound plug-in for a while and see how well I adjust. With Winamp 2.79 I'll try a regular volume of somewhere between 5% and 13%, as that seems to be similar to what I am used to from earlier versions of Winamp (right now, a volume of 50% is way too loud, with all of my OS sound levels and speaker levels the same as before). I will admit that when using the new DirectSound plug-in, the music fading out when I click Pause or Stop or exit Winamp sounds pretty neat.

23rd March 2002, 01:23	#10
peter ist death Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 3,704	wouldn't it be more simple to reduce global volume in windows' volume control, then use full range of Winamp's volume ?

23rd March 2002, 20:21	#12
mlmatthews Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 6	Adjusting the pre-amp in the Equalizer window seems to work pretty well. I haven't paid it much attention other than just setting a preset and the nforgetting about it. Thanks for the help.