How do the various loudness options differ?

[steffeeh]

In the settings on the Spotify app for Android, you find 3 different loudness settings; Quiet, Normal, and Loud (or similar, my app isn't in english).

Being experienced in music production and audio editing, I wonder what the technical differences are between these 3 settings?

Obviosuly loud means dynamic reduction through compression or similar, but what are the differences between Normal and Quiet? In the Normal setting, is there any dynamic reduction, or are the songs just normalized in volume?

[Loxer]

Hey @steffeeh, welcome to the Community.

Good question!

Normally they have a small description on mobile apps (check the attached image).

The Normal setting has normal loudness with all the dynamics of the music. Loud as you said preserves them while Quiet reduces it so it would appear quieter than normal. The best way to find out which fits you best is to test it with yor own gear!

Hope I was able to help 🙂

[steffeeh]

But if Normal has all the original dynamics of the music, why would there be a need for a Quiet option? Also, it's a bit confusing as it says the Quiet option "preserves dynamics" (looking at your image), as if the Normal setting didn't.

[Loxer]

I tried those option on my own gear, I really can't tell a huge difference in other things rather than sound level. Maybe if you have a better gear than mine, which I am sure you do, please try and tell me what you see different. Will try to find more about these settings and will tell you if I find something 🙂

[steffeeh]

I've been in contact with Spotify support twice now, but no one seem to know much about the different settings.