Does replaygain degrade sound quality?

[ggking7]

Do you think replaygain degrades sound quality?

 

[pichonCalavera]

Replaygain doesn't degrates quality, since in only puts some values as tags inside the audio file, it doesn't change the music data in any way.

 

I have a Squeezebox and I apply replaygain to all my music, many times it serves it's purpose well (keeping a constant volume), but there are other times where it's just way off (too loud or too soft), making the music listening time a bit less pleasant.

 

So it doesn't degrade sound, but it won't be perfect either. Depending on the situation, I enable it (when the music is in the background), or disable it (when I want to sit down and enjoy the music... I want to control the sound volume)

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

In my opinion replay gain doesn't effect the original file / source, but it changes what the song sounds like when played back. I consider this detrimental if I am going for an exact reproduction of what is on an album. Normalizing volume can be a very nice feature however and a ton of people love it. So, I'm cool with it but I won't use it. With out soft and loud passages everything is either soft or loud. It kind of reminds me of the loudness wars.

 

Just my opinion. Please keep in mind that if it sounds good to you then it's good!

 

[ggking7]

Yeah, it seems to me, whenever music is altered digitally, the sound quality has been degraded. It's been changed. That includes DSP, digital volume control, and replaygain.