Hi Colin,
This morning started a new topic in the Tutorials for it, but I see that I don't really have time for it, so now you'll never get an answer.
Anyway, about existsing instructions the answer is "No". But generally it comes down to this :
Take a random album, but actually one of which you think it has average compression, is best. Why ? well, because you'll see the devation to the average (you set yourself) back in the Volume Normalized album to play, and it tells something about the quality. Thus, the higher its "calculated" Volume, the less it is compressed, the better quality it is (generally). And the other way around of course.
Do notice that for the result it does not matter at all which album you take for the Reference, and you just as well could enter a number yourself. The relative (level) outcome over albums, really won't change. But the number doesn't tell a thing, while the general quality of The Police may, and everything which plays in set (calculated) dB softer relative to that, will be more compressed (it is louder so it must be attenuated more).
The other way of approaching it : If you think Justin Bieber is the worst for compression and you'd use that for the Reference, then all others will set its dB output louder relative to that and when you run into one which sets the level as soft (as the Bieber) you will know right away it is "nothing much".
Be warned that you must learn to use it. For example, it is quite difficult to mix rock and classical (in a Playlist and Volume Normalization active), because classical tends to normalize with a way higer output because its
average level is so low. Thus, if you, for example at a Show, set the volume for some AC/DC (which is quite average for compression) then a Brahms will blast out of the room because its average level is so low, it thus likes to pay louder, and when this one very loud part comes up, the windows go out.
When you play tracks of different albums in one playlist (think Show again) it generall works out better when you Normalize per track (left hand small button active, plus the larger right hand one). A bit difficult to explain the why - but see more below.
Personally, and thinking Shows again, I don't use the Volume Normalization, or I must know exactly what comes up next and know what I am doing. This is again about the variation in general loudness over music types (like rock vs classical) and that *without* Volume Normalization the only difference will be about the recording level. And that difference is not so large (as you might think). It really is about the very different general level of music types, which actually makes the Normalization fail. Think of it (and try it) : a drumming only track; this is more than half silence (compare with Led Zeppelin). Supposed it is "half" silence then the normalization will make it twice as loud playing (6dB more). If it is quarter, then 12dB. If it plays (violins) at 24dB lower with one big blast at the end of the 10 minute track, then this blast will hardly touch the average, and the violin plays 24 dB louder. This is fine and you'd want that, but reality it is not. You will notice at the (now) 120dBSPL blast ...
Last example : A Charlie Antolini album. Most of it is drums, but one track also contains a bass and some more. If you Normalize this at the album level, and say that 10% of it is this track with bass and more, then that track causes the remainder to drop 10% in volume (it averages out for that 10% - again, difficult to explain). If you play the other tracks, they are quite fine. But don't play that one track, because that was taken down in level with 90% because of the other silent tracks (the "half" stuff I talked about) and this one track will be super loud(ly played) because of that. So the album is actually Normalized around most of the other tracks which are so silent. This is how Normalizing per track works better. That one track with bass now plays at its own level, as do the more silent tracks. So now no real problem (apart from a few blasts in the silent tracks).
Peter
