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I've had a volume problem since itunes 4. I have an imike for my stereo and then isub and sounsticks. Sometimes when I start itunes the volume control on the keyboard is not effective. I open System Prefs and click back and forth between them an the volume starts working.

I only mentioned the equipment in passing, didn't think it would have anything to do with the problem. After thinking about this it seems I had a volume problem in itunes 1 and or 2 but not 3, now irt's back in 4.

Say what?

i think you can fix this in the prefs.  make sure there's an option in there that says something like "auto-fix the volume" or something that automatically raises/lowers the volume so it's all uniform.  unclick it and things should work.  try it, let me know.

I'm having the same problem. Only noticable in iTunes 4. Sounds like a bug if it's replicable on multiple systems and set ups...

Apple, you listening?

I've run into the same problem (just updated to iTunes 4). It seems to be the Sound Enhancer. I turn it off, the volume yo-yo stops. Turn it on and it's back.

It's definitely not random. As noted, it seems tied to the volume of the music. I have a track that's really good for showing the problem - got some moderately loud bass drum hits in the opening. After each one the volume drops, then starts to recover in the quieter part, then drops again at the next bass drum. With the Sound Enhancer off, this effect goes away.

This sucks because for me anyway the Sound Enhancer actually *does* make the music sound better. At least it did in iTunes 3. Time for a bug report...

-Robb

Happens to me with both Sound Enhancer and Sound Check turned off. Sent off a bug report as well.

I guess I can add myself to the iTunes fade problem list.

At first I thought it may be my speakers.  Then I thought I was going deaf.  But no, it's just iTunes.

Has anyone received a response regarding the bug report?

--MacLuxo

I noticed this as well on my iMac DV SE (2000). Just thought I'd add my voice to the base, here.

I just tried it out on my old Tangerine iMac running OS X.2.5 w/iTunes 4 of course...no issues that I can tell so far.

Perhaps another item to look for connections with is this:
Are the users that are having problems download iTunes via Software Update?  Or directly from the Apple site?

I downloaded mine directly from the Apple site.

I downloaded mine from the website because it never showed up in software update.

Ok, I believe I know what is happening. It seems iTunes 4 is doing really clumsy level control to prevent clipping distortion. So if sound levels hit the maximum, it throttles the volume down.

I just finished experimenting with various combinations of Equalizer and Sound Enhancer settings using a track that shows the problem very well. I could use the SE with the EQ set to "Flat" and I saw no variation. Same if I turned the SE off but set the EQ to "Bass Booster". But both together show the problem. And most telling, if I turned off the SE and manually cranked the EQ bass frequencies to double the "Bass Booster" levels, I got the fades again.

For comparison, I played the track in iTunes 3 with SE on and EQ on "Bass Booster" (my preferred setup). I did notice distortion when the bass got loud. In iTunes 4, that's precisely where the fades happen. Note that this is independent of the actual volume setting - I'm seeing this with the System volume at 50% and iTunes volume at 50%. My Pro Speakers aren't straining, it's clipping in the digital realm.

The long and the short of it seems to be that iTunes 4 implements a new algorithm to handle clipping which, quite frankly, sucks. I'm going to re-submit my bug report to Apple and tell them what I've found. Until/unless they fix this, everybody check your Equalizer settings. If you have the fade problem, try backing the preamp down slightly. This preserves the relative frequency settings and should drop the levels below the clipping threshold. This worked for my troublesome track.

-Robb