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The "Loudness War" and the Future of Music
An anonymous reader notes an article up at IEEE Spectrum outlining the history and dangers of the accelerating tendency of music producers to increase the loudness and reduce the dynamic range of CDs. "The loudness war, what many audiophiles refer to as an assault on music (and ears), has been an open secret of the recording industry for nearly the past two decades and has garnered more attention in recent years as CDs have pushed the limits of loudness thanks to advances in digital technology. The 'war' refers to the competition among record companies to make louder and louder albums by compressing the dynamic range. But the loudness war could be doing more than simply pumping up the volume and angering aficionados — it could be responsible for halting technological advances in sound quality for years to come... From the mid 1980s to now, the average loudness of CDs increased by a factor of 10, and the peaks of songs are now one-tenth of what they used to be."
Amps that only go up to 7. Because 7 is quieter than 10.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
A few years ago, my in-laws bought one of those digital satellite TV setups. Not bad, a pain when it rained, but otherwise aok. I recorded a few shows onto VHS, for posterity. Well, I visited there, and it still looked fine, especially compared to my digital TV at home, but then I popped in the old VHS tapes... something's happened to the picture. The shows I recorded years ago are sharper, and more pleasing than the modern footage. Then I began digging up old 3/4 and 1" masters from even further back, even better looking still. Then I bought myself a Super8 film camera previously used as a newsreel camera in the 70's. The footage it shot looks astounding.
And then I began looking at my digital cameras output vs my grandfathers old Yashica 35mm. The camera made in 1973 was blowing away $8000 Canons!
We are in an age of eroding quality. The DVD player you buy today likely will not last as long as the one you bought 5 years ago. Companies are cutting every corner they can to reduce cost, and telling us all the way how much better the new systems are.
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
Umm... I think you're trying to play your WINDOWS O/S CDROM!
-- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
I blame Phil Spector. Thank God he's been brought to trial for his crimes.
+0 Meh
Seriously, I don't see the problem. Decreased dynamic range is good, as far as I'm concerned. It means you set the volume where you want it and it *stays* there. Most of the music I listen to has a fairly narrow dynamic range. Most Bach pieces, for instance, have pretty much a steady volume for the entire piece. You don't find yourself straining to hear and cranking the volume up to 11 one minute just to convince yourself the speakers are still attached and then covering your ears and dragging the slider back down to 2 the next moment to avoid angering the neighbors across the street, like you do with Beethoven and his ilk.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
Sir, people have been wondering what Bob Dylan has been talking about for over 40 years.
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
You're not deaf enough. Now excuse me while I turn up Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor so I can rattle my neighbors windows.
He was always a problem.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Isn't the whole point is to have the loudest boom-car on the block? Who need sound quality when all there is to "music" is: **THUD** **THUD** **THUD** **THUD** **THUD** **THUD**. That and maybe some moron chanting mosoginistic obsenities, racial slurs, and glamorizing drugs and violence.
Next thing somebody will write an article saying that music should have composition, harmonies, melodies, varity, and subbtle qualities. Or that vocalists should actually be able to sing - not just talk into a mic, or that "musicians" actually read and write music, or that musicians actually play a musical instrument. Or that lyrics should be more than "funk soul brotha" repeated a thousand times.
Come on folks, this is the 21st century. The point of a sound system is prove that you're a real man by being obnoxious, and irritating other people. And besides, the recording industry is a *business* it's all about your crib and your bling. Screw "sound quality."
The same thing is being done to your food with sugar and salt.
Except not by the record companies, obviously.
erroneous: look me up in a dictionary
Its rediculus 2 loose you're temper over that.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
The reason I think this is the case is that I always notice that when I play highly clipped music (e.g. Green day) through my ipod that the symbols and snare drums are actually slightly painful to the ears even when the overall volume is at low listening level.
I find playing Green day to be painful to my ears no matter what I play it through.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Which knob do you adjust to increase the dynamic range and re-add the lost information?
The recording engineer?
Rich
Ah, that's what "mute" is for.
You mean the "off" button.
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
I will send you one of these pens for only $345 and as a bonus I'll include a copper magnetic bracelet which not only improves sound quality when wrapped around audio cables but can also alleviate arthritis.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com