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Louder is not really worse when it comes to music. In fact, try turning up whatever you're listening to right now--it'll actually sound better! The loudness wa

by aston 8y ago

Louder is not really worse when it comes to music. In fact, try turning up whatever you're listening to right now--it'll actually sound better! The loudness wars (mass application of massive compression that reduces dynamic range) are the music equivalent of adding salt to savory foods. People like it better even though it's technically "worse".

mchahn 8y ago
Wow. Can't disagree more. Compressed audio only sounds better on crappy speakers. Maybe they are common with phones.
- userbinator 8y ago
  The effect of loudness on perception is well-documented in several studies and used to much advantage by audiophile snake-oil peddlers.
  - p1necone 8y ago
    Loudness yes, but increased loudness that necessitates compression, where the compression is the negative is what is being talked about here.
- slv77 8y ago
  Compressed audio works better in environments with a lot of ambient noise such as cars. Since this is where most people listen to (and discover) the majority of their music artists are adjusting to their audience.
suprathreshold 8y ago
Just make sure that you're staying within safe listening levels as to not damage your hearing.
bassman9000 8y ago
Compressing means giving up on the dynamics. It's a lossy process. E.g. the drummer started a subtle crescendo, that lasted a few bars, and now it's gone because everything sounds the same. BTW, came to post about the wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war
stinos 8y ago
Louder is not really worse ... loudness wars Those are 2 different kinds of loud making your point sort of moot.. The former is about amplifying every frequency with the same amount (well, within limits of whatever harware you're using), the latter is about amplifying certain frequencies more than others resulting in relative differences between instruments getting smaller.
p0nce 8y ago
Can't agree more. Dynamics may sound fantastic on your headphones, but in the average party or the average car it won't.

by aston 8y ago

mchahn 8y ago

Wow. Can't disagree more. Compressed audio only sounds better on crappy speakers. Maybe they are common with phones.

userbinator 8y ago
The effect of loudness on perception is well-documented in several studies and used to much advantage by audiophile snake-oil peddlers.
- p1necone 8y ago
  Loudness yes, but increased loudness that necessitates compression, where the compression is the negative is what is being talked about here.
slv77 8y ago
Compressed audio works better in environments with a lot of ambient noise such as cars. Since this is where most people listen to (and discover) the majority of their music artists are adjusting to their audience.

suprathreshold 8y ago

Just make sure that you're staying within safe listening levels as to not damage your hearing.

bassman9000 8y ago

Compressing means giving up on the dynamics. It's a lossy process. E.g. the drummer started a subtle crescendo, that lasted a few bars, and now it's gone because everything sounds the same. BTW, came to post about the wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

stinos 8y ago

Louder is not really worse ... loudness wars Those are 2 different kinds of loud making your point sort of moot.. The former is about amplifying every frequency with the same amount (well, within limits of whatever harware you're using), the latter is about amplifying certain frequencies more than others resulting in relative differences between instruments getting smaller.

p0nce 8y ago

Can't agree more. Dynamics may sound fantastic on your headphones, but in the average party or the average car it won't.