Great read and though the finding is quite intuitive, it is good to see data supporting it.
This is where my confusion starts. If softer sounds are made louder then how does it become more popular, sell more and even win Grammies?If I am not mistaken, loudness wars refer to Dynamic range Compression wherein softer sounds are also increased to make the music sound louder.
Very difficult for average joe listener like me to say. Can't say for Pop/rock etc unless I listen to the two versions of the same song, but it will definitely kill classical music.does it actually sound better?
This is where my confusion starts. If softer sounds are made louder then how does it become more popular, sell more and even win Grammies?
does it actually sound better?
What it does it makes it easier to listen on mass market systems and earphones...the detailing which you can hear from a uncompressed recording and a good system will be missing from the more commonly used systems hence they reduce range and make softer parts louder and reduce the amplitude of the louder sounds so it can be clear on all systems.This is where my confusion starts. If softer sounds are made louder then how does it become more popular, sell more and even win Grammies?
does it actually sound better?
Good one. But it’s showing only part of the Problem ... Singling out Audio Format/ Genre preferences only for the music loudness levels will be like missing the wood for the trees.
Excellent album overall, Not a month goes without listening to it.to ‘A Meeting by the River’ by Water Lily Acoustics
does it actually sound better?
True by itself a compressed one can sound jarring and once you compare with an uncompressed one, unlistenable..In general, louder is perceived as better.
As I listen more however, my personal preference is clearly for tracks with high dynamic range. In terms of how the music makes me feel, there's simply no comparison between those and tracks compressed to hell and back. I'll still listen to the latter if that's the only choice I have to listen to the music, but by God, I'll wish for an expanded dynamic range.
I like your analogy of “fast food” preferences, with high sugar and salty fried food being successfully mass produced and marketed slickly and conveniently to consumers.Good one. But it’s showing only part of the Problem ... Singling out Audio Format/ Genre preferences only for the music loudness levels will be like missing the wood for the trees.
Whats the incremental change in Ambient Noise levels over the recent decades ? Which is an important culprit.
I think the ambient noise levels have risen proportionally in most of the households, depending upon the Electrical / other equipments they’re adding every year, increasing Industrial Activity of the Town ( Construction Activities, Pubs , Bars , Stadiums , Concert Halls) & Increasing Numbers of New Vehicles Registered in Respective RTOs etc.
Not to forget the Increase in World Population over the decade and increasing stress levels of individuals which makes them change their preference for certain (fast food) kind of music, which gives instant high ( and a headache later on, With Earache to everyone else) & instant gratification.
Excellent album overall, Not a month goes without listening to it.
(file) Size matters most
IMO, that can be remedied through amplification. Doesn’t need compressing the dynamic range. It is also largely a non-issue while listening through headphones/earphones as the younger listeners mostly do.Whats the incremental change in Ambient Noise levels over the recent decades ? Which is an important culprit.
I think the ambient noise levels have risen proportionally in most of the households, depending upon the Electrical / other equipments they’re adding every year, increasing Industrial Activity of the Town ( Construction Activities, Pubs , Bars , Stadiums , Concert Halls) & Increasing Numbers of New Vehicles Registered in Respective RTOs etc.
We call them ‘flat’ singers. The better musicians will carefully play with the dynamic range to bring out the most musical effect of their piece.What if the recording doesn't have much dynamic range in it to begin with? It's not as simple as lossless vs lossy compression.
And probably the sound engineers and technicians working with those labels also listen to decent systems?You are right on Jazz/Classical perhaps because folks who heard that did have a decent Hifi System
Yes horrible V- shaped equalisations applied to bring out the boom boom chik chik .On Saregama, their digitisation of old music itself is suspect and most probably a low bitrate. Most of their music on FLACs sound hollow - maybe they applied some equalization on top of that !
Indian Ocean's CDs and soundtrack of black friday are very good..but Yuvraj which has really nice music was recorded so badly that you cant even hear it on a car HiFi
You are right on Jazz/Classical perhaps because folks who heard that did have a decent Hifi System