FAQ

Overview

General Questions

What can I find here?

On this website you will find information about the dynamic range 1 2 of music. While this website is primarily aimed at documenting CD's, any digital audio such as album downloads are supported.

What are the coloured boxes with numbers about?

On the front page you will see coloured boxes ranging from 1, up until 14. From time to time you may also encounter numbers higher than 14, which are the same green colour.

These numbers represent the dynamic range (DR) as measured by TT DR Offline Meter 1.4. The higher the number , and thus greener the box, the higher the DR is. In general, a higher DR will sound better than a lower one. Overly compressed audio 3 tends to sound worse than the same audio without added DR compression.

Keep in mind that the DR of an album is only one of many variables that can affect audio quality. For example, I own two 'The Doors' albums by The Doors. While both have great DR, the Japanese version sounds a lot better than its Western counterpart. It's wise to factor in the difference in recording, or mastering as well. However, I always strife to find albums that have an album DR of at least 10 or higher, if possible.

Which algorithm is being used to determine loudness?

Currently, only TT DR Offline Meter 1.4 is being accepted. While there is a successor 4, it is not free. The tool mentioned while outdated, is free and gives satisfactory results for this use case. Should you disagree, and wish to have more algorithm's available, please contact me.

Wait, isn't there already a dynamic range database around?

That's correct, one already exists in the wild 5. The reason for this website existing, is that I found it cumbersome to be unable to search by barcode. When out and about, that is often the easiest way of finding an entry in such a database.

Another part which has been expanded upon is the ability to create your own collection. That way, you can add albums that you own from this database to your own collection. Within that collection you are able to search in the same way as on the main page, which allows you to quickly find whether the album you're looking at in real life is already in your CD collection at home.

What is your privacy policy?

We don't use any tracking cookies, and there are no ads on this website. The way the code is written should be quite efficient, thus minimising costs allowing us to function with no ads. Another aim is to make a lightweight website, which is why you won't find huge Javascript frameworks here.

My Collection

What can I do with 'My Collection' on this website?

As answered in the above question, you're able to search your own collection in the exact same way as you'd do on the main page. Adding albums to your collection is easy, by clicking the star in the table to the right on the main page, of next to the album name in it's detail page. Removing it is also easy, just click the star again, and it will disappear from the collection. The star is visible only after you create a collection.

Can I export my collection?

Yes, just navigate to 'My Collection', and click the 'Export' button visible above the DR scale. Doing so will produce a file 6 with all your albums, including tracks and associated data.

The exported file is structured in a specific way, described here. Feel free to use its structure in any way you see fit.

Can I share my collection?

Yes, that's possible. Navigate to 'My Collection', and click the 'Make public' button visible above the DR scale. You can then share your collection to others by linking them to the following URL:

www.dyradb.com/share/your_username

Substitute 'your_username' with your own username, and you're all set! Notice the 'Make public' button is now called 'Make private', and clicking it will make sure others won't be able to see your collection anymore. Don't worry, even if you share it nobody will be able to modify it.

Can I delete my collection?

No problem, navigate to 'My Collection' and click the 'Delete permanently' button. Keep in mind that deletion is irreversible, your information is deleted permanently from the server.

Technical Questions

How is the export file formatted?

Please refer to the technical schema. The schema in question is a JSON Schema 2019-09 file.

Contact

How can I contact you?

Please send an email to avuc.site at gmail dot com.