Dynamic Range

[Cohibaman]

I agree with you there as well, but only if they are remastered properly. Pink Floyd Animals comes to mind, the release that I have sounds much better than the original CD even though it has more compression. Again, all things being the same, less compression sounds better.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by Still-One

What difference does the dynamic range mean? You either enjoy the album or you don't. You can find great music no matter how wide the dynamic range might be.

That's certainly true. But dynamics, and the nuance of dynamics, are key aspects of musicianship. So they are often a clue as to the quality of a performance or recording.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by cleeds

That's certainly true. But dynamics, and the nuance of dynamics, are key aspects of musicianship. So they are often a clue as to the quality of a performance or recording.

Dynamic range has little to do with the quality of a performance. DR is the provenance of the recording and mastering engineers.

[PHC1]

Musical content and genre preferences aside, any dynamic range compressed music in not music. You wouldn't want to drive a Ferrari on square tires so why should one accept the square wave instead of nature's sine wave in music?

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by Cohibaman

I agree with you there as well, but only if they are remastered properly. Pink Floyd Animals comes to mind, the release that I have sounds much better than the original CD even though it has more compression. Again, all things being the same, less compression sounds better.

I agree in general that in general that less compression is preferable for most recordings. It is just not a factor in my listening choices.

[PHC1]

If the dynamic range compression did not happen, we'd be spending far less time chasing the elusive high end sounding system and far more enjoying music and being totally content with the gear that we already have.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by PHC1

If the dynamic range compression did not happen, we'd be spending far less time chasing the elusive high end sounding system and far more enjoying music and being totally content with the gear that we already have.

You may I wouldn't. I have never, not once made a listening decision based on dynamic range.

[cleeds]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Dynamic range has little to do with the quality of a performance.

Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. The use of dynamics to convey emotion, excitement, and power in music is very much something the great conductors and musicians all exploit. The attack of a note, the subtlety of dynamic changes, the nuance of altering those relationships, are all part of musicianship. Of course, whether that gets translated to the actual recording is very much up to those on the recording and mastering end. But it starts with the composer and performers. And that is why dynamics is part of musical notation - it's impossible to understand a composer's musical intent without understanding the dynamics. Knowing the notes alone is not nearly enough.

Back when I played horn (decades ago), I struggled with a Mozart piece. I drove my teacher nuts until he introduced a new exercise of just mastering the notes ppppp first. Once I achieved that - and I mean that relatively - we then practiced the dynamics. That's how the performance came together.

Later, I played with Chuck Mangione. When we rehearsed his piece for performance ("Hill Where the Lord Hides"), dynamics were all we concentrated on. If you listen to that composition, you realize it's nothing without the proper dynamic relationships. The same is true of Ravel's Bolero. Those are obvious examples; usually, the use of dynamics is more subtle. But that the dynamics may be subtle doesn't mean they aren't critical. A lot of music is based on subtlety.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Still-One

You may I wouldn't. I have never, not once made a listening decision based on dynamic range.

Neither have I since I still prefer to listen to what I prefer to listen to but... Dynamic range compressed music all too often leads to dissatisfaction with what our ears hear. All too often everything but the recording itself is blamed.

Well recorded music with dynamic range intact draws far less attention to itself or the system and instead the mind is free to soak it all in instead of being distracted by the deficiencies and unnatural sound.

[PHC1]

There really is no arguing that dynamic range should be intact as much as possible. Arguing to the contrary is just being silly.

Of course such is not the case and really never was with the limitations of the various types of media. Tape and vinyl could not capture or reproduce the full spectrum of the dynamic range in some genres. CD improved it but was used to instead create loudness and clip the dynamic range to increase sales to the typical unsuspecting customer.

With the music streaming age upon us, I am sure that will change and is already happening. Of course we will never be able to enjoy some of those classics since we can't undo the damage done. But going forward it will get much better with the new music. The only question is will the new artists and new music appeal to us...