Squash Dem Highs, Boost Dem Lows. Hardware AGC Kit.

[milky]

If you too are annoyed by the high fluctuation in sound levels between tracks on a portable CD or MP3 player, you could build the kit seen here http://www.jaycar.com.au/productResults.asp?keywords=KC5291&keyform=KEYWORD&SUBMIT.x=38&SUBMIT.y=10 .
I built one of these kits way back in 2000, and it still works perfectly. The chips used went out of production a few years ago, but I was pleased to discover that the designer has re-released the kit.

The unit does a great job of smoothing out the dynamic range so that quiet tracks and louder tracks attain a more constant level. My son uses an iPod and has never been able to get the levels right - turn it up for one track, and down for the next. This device, inserted between the player and the audio input of his car sound system, can be adjusted to give just the right amount of boost for quieter tracks, and reduces the louder passages.

How hard is it to build? You obviously need a soldering iron and the skills to use it. An ohmmeter or multimeter to check the values of the resistors is useful if your colour vision is not up to reading the coding on them, and you need to be able to recognise the different components (there is an info sheet included), but it really isn't that difficult. Once built, the results are really very good.