Does your music video sound dull?

Have you noticed how some songs on YouTube sound a bit too dark? On this page you get to compare YouTube audio to the original mastered file. Once you are familiar with the comparison you should check if the same difference can be found between your video and the original audio track.

Let’s do the comparison

Listen to an audio track from YouTube and compare it to the original WAV file from Dropbox. Switch between the sources between two bars. At first it can be difficult to spot the difference so you’ll need to use your full concentration.

Instead of mobile, use either desktop or laptop. For easier comparison open both links to a new tab. Adjust the volume on Dropbox by clicking the speaker symbol. Don’t look at the video or McGurk effect can affect the results by making you hear what you see.

This comparison is not about downloading the original WAV file to the computer as it is streamed from Dropbox. I encourage you to compare the original mastered file that’s on your computer and the version on YouTube using the music of your band.

Example 1: Erävesi – Välirauha

Original mastered file: 44,1 kHz, 24 bit, stereo WAV

The version on YouTube:

The original version on Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hn23i1ou455ccm9agim0t/03Valirauha191020-44100Hz-24bit.wav?rlkey=2cui6u4ce8rc96hf6lw1xxmqb&dl=0

If it’s difficult to spot the difference, try concentrating on the following:

high-end of the guitars
the energy of the snare especially in fast snare rolls
vocalist’s facial expression and how much she means what she says
high frequencies of the track
the clarity of the bass and the attack of the notes

You can do the comparison using either speaker or headphones. Yet, you should not use wireless headphones as they tend to remove all the small nuances making the comparison pointless.

Example 2: Vanguardian – Back to Stone Age

Original mastered file: 48 Hz, 24 bit, stereo WAV

The version on YouTube:

The original version on Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xlk0ud3scbov20pwpojh7/01WOYH210119v1_48kHz24bit.wav?rlkey=qlj4ou6fbxrmocysm4i6d3g4j&dl=0

If it’s difficult to spot the difference, try concentrating on the following:

high frequencies of the track
high-end of the guitars
the energy of the snare drum and how loud the snare is
the attack of the tom hits
vocalist’s facial expression and how much he means what he says
overall clarity of the track
the brightness of the bass and the attack of the notes

You can do the comparison using either speaker or headphones. Yet, you should not use wireless headphones as they tend to remove all the small nuances making the comparison pointless.

Music video with dull sound

Avoid the dullness of your music video by exporting it from the video editor with uncompressed audio aka PCM. The sound tends to go dark and dull when there’s multiple MP3 conversions. Did you know that YouTube does not recommend uploading compressed audio? Read more here.

If you did spot the difference between the original file and YouTube audio, you should get Vanguardian’s II: The Heretic EP on analogue signal path vinyl record that was recorded, mixed and mastered at Astia-studio on magnetic tape. When you listen to it through an analogue signal path audio system, you’ll hear the nuances described above even stronger. Learn more about analogue signal path releases that were recorded, mixed and mastered at Astia-studio.

Send a message to reserve a full analogue recording session at Astia-studio, and experience how much more your music can deliver to the listener.

Audio files on this comparison are used with permission from both Erävesi and Vanguardian.