Sound Check is a feature in Apple Music that adjusts the playback volume of songs in your library to a consistent level, so that all songs play at the same relative loudness. It works by analyzing the audio characteristics of each song and then applying an algorithm to adjust the playback volume accordingly.
If you don't know how does Sound Check work with your listening experience, you can go ahead and choose to turn it on or off on your iPhone, iPad or Mac according to your preferences.
Part 1. What Does Sound Check Do in Apple Music?
When you play a song in Apple Music, Sound Check checks the loudness of the song and compares it to a reference loudness level. If the song is louder than the reference level, Sound Check will lower the volume of the song. If the song is quieter than the reference level, Sound Check will increase the volume of the song. For example, if you move from a quiet music track to a louder one, your iPhone, iPad or Mac device with the "Sound Check" turned on ensures that that louder track's volume isn't any higher than the quiet one.
Similar to Spotify's Normalize volume or Amazon Music's Loudness Normalization, Apple Music's Sound Check works simply by dynamically raising or lowering the playback volume, just as you yourself can raise and lower the playback volume in iTunes without affecting sound quality.
The reference loudness level used by Sound Check is based on a standard called ReplayGain, which is an industry-wide method for measuring and normalizing the loudness of audio recordings. Sound Check uses a similar algorithm to ReplayGain to determine the reference loudness level for your music library.
Part 2. How to Turn On Sound Check in Apple Music
Sound Check is turned on by default in Apple Music on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. But you can go check this setting on your device and ensure it's turned on for your Apple Music playback.
When Sound Check is turned on, Apple Music analyzes the loudness of each song and adjusts the playback volume so that all songs play at approximately the same loudness level. This can help prevent abrupt changes in volume and create a more consistent listening experience.
For iPhone/iPad:
1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Music.
3. Scroll down to Sound Check, and toggle on the "Sound Check" option to enable this feature.
4. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Music app and play what you want to listen to on the same volume level.
For Mac:
1. On your Mac, open the Music app.
2. Click on Music in the Apple menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. Select Preferences.
4. Click on the Playback tab.
5. Select the Sound Check checkbox.
For Mac or PC:
1. On your Mac or PC, open the iTunes app.
2. Click on File from the top menu.
3. Select Preferences.
4. Click on the Playback tab.
5. Select the Sound Check checkbox.
Once you have turned on Sound Check, it will adjust the playback volume of songs in your library to a consistent level.
Part 3. How to Turn Off Sound Check in Apple Music
You can turn it off or adjust its settings in the Music app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. To do this, go to the Settings or Preferences section of the Music app and look for the Sound Check or Playback options. From there, you can toggle Sound Check on or off, or adjust the reference loudness level used by the feature.
If you turn off the Sound Check setting in Apple Music, it will stop normalizing the playback volume of your songs. This means that songs with varying loudness levels may sound louder or quieter than others, which can be noticeable when listening to a playlist or album.
For iPhone/iPad:
1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Music.
3. Scroll down to Sound Check, and toggle off the "Sound Check" option to disable this feature.
4. When the Sound Check setting is turned off on your iPhone or iPad, you will experience the different levels of your Apple Music playback.
For Mac:
1. On your Mac, open the Music app.
2. Click on Music in the Apple menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. Select Preferences.
4. Click on the Playback tab.
5. Deselect the Sound Check checkbox.
For Mac or PC:
1. On your Mac or PC, open the iTunes app.
2. Click on File from the top menu.
3. Select Preferences.
4. Click on the Playback tab.
5. Deselect the Sound Check checkbox.
Once you have turned off Sound Check, the playabck volume of songs in your library won't be adjusted and remain what it is.
Bonus Tip: How to Download Apple Music to MP3s for Your Devices
If you want or need to download your entire Apple Music library to your devices for offline play on any media players, you have to download music included to MP3 audio files. You may know that your Apple Music downloads with subscription has DRM-protection, which restricts the music playback within the Apple Music app only. Fortunately, an Apple Music downloader can work with iTunes program to download any music tracks you want from Apple Music directly to your computer devices. Then you have the ability to transfer them as downloaded music to your other devices for unlimited playback.
Best Apple Music Downloader - ViWizard Audio Converter
ViWizard Audio Converter is designed for Apple Music users to download the desired contents into files in several formats: MP3, M4A, M4B, WAV, AAC and FLAC. In addition to Apple Music, iTunes files, podcasts, audiobooks and even Audible audiobooks can be downloaded to your devices directly. Once you have made your Apple Music library offline on your PC or Mac, you can play the audio files with the most common media players.
Adam Gorden is an experienced writer of ViWizard who is obsessed about tech, movie and software.
