Every so often I’m asked what abilities iTunes has to influence how audio CDs are burned—does gapless playback work on burned CDs, for example, and what about Sound Check? Time to provide some answers.
Works
Sound Check iTunes’ Sound Check feature, the option designed to make the volume of all tracks similar, can be enabled for burned CDs. To enable it, choose the Advanced tab in iTunes’ Preferences, click the Burning tab within the Advanced window, and enable the Use Sound Check option.
Gaps If the tracks in the playlist you intend to burn are configured to play gaplessly—you’re burning a copy of The Beatles’ Abbey Road , for example—the tracks will be gapless on the burned CD as well. To help ensure that this works, be sure that in that same Burning tab I mentioned earlier the Gap Between Songs pop-up menu reads None.
Audiobook chapters If you burn a CD that contains audiobooks purchased from the iTunes Store or Audible.com, the chapters will be burned as separate tracks.
Doesn’t Work
Crossfades Within iTunes’ Playback preference you can enable crossfading between tracks—where one track fades into the next. Crossfade settings don’t transfer to burned CDs. If you want to crossfade tracks on a burned disc, look to Roxio’s $100 Toast Titanium 8, which, like Roxio’s Jam before it, includes a crossfade feature.
EQ Any EQ settings you’ve imposed on tracks in your iTunes library are not transferred to a burned CD.
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