firedog Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Bowie's Blackstar. I love its very low DR : makes the sound an aural sculpture + the bass level is so tremendous that I get scared I could damage my house while everything is so articulate, clean that though I have to shout to talk to my girlfriend she can keep on fooling around with pretenders on Facebook and (almost) not be bothered by the sax. Maybe I don't dig the DR argument right... There is definitely modern music where the high compression is part of the sound. I can't argue against that. But it is still an unnatural sound that gives me a headache after more than a song or two. The bigger problem is with music where the compression isn't really an integral part of the sound (especially vintage music being remastered) - and the heavy compression is just done to make it "very loud". In those cases it takes away from the artistic expression, IMO. Main listening (small home office): Main setup: Surge protectors +>Isol-8 Mini sub Axis Power Strip/Protection>QuietPC Low Noise Server>Roon (Audiolense DRC)>Stack Audio Link II>Kii Control>Kii Three BXT (on their own electric circuit) >GIK Room Treatments. Secondary Path: Server with Audiolense RC>RPi4 or analog>Cayin iDAC6 MKII (tube mode) (XLR)>Kii Three BXT Bedroom: SBTouch to Cambridge Soundworks Desktop Setup. Living Room/Kitchen: Ropieee (RPi3b+ with touchscreen) + Schiit Modi3E to a pair of Morel Hogtalare. All absolute statements about audio are false Link to comment
Sal1950 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Bowie's Blackstar. I love its very low DR : makes the sound an aural sculpture + the bass level is so tremendous that I get scared I could damage my house while everything is so articulate, clean that though I have to shout to talk to my girlfriend she can keep on fooling around with pretenders on Facebook and (almost) not be bothered by the sax. Maybe I don't dig the DR argument right... There is definitely modern music where the high compression is part of the sound. I can't argue against that. But it is still an unnatural sound that gives me a headache after more than a song or two. The bigger problem is with music where the compression isn't really an integral part of the sound (especially vintage music being remastered) - and the heavy compression is just done to make it "very loud". In those cases it takes away from the artistic expression, IMO. +1 firedog But you do have to wonder how much of the decision to highly compress modern recordings is an "artistic" choice of the musicians or engineers, and what amount is an label choice to make the $ people happy. Did the artist ever have a chance to review the sound without the compression and decide what he liked better? A very good video is out there with statements from the most famous producers like Alan Parsons Very good info. Le Concombre Masqué and all, watch these to get a deeper understanding of what the loudness wars is really about. "The gullibility of audiophiles is what astonishes me the most, even after all these years. How is it possible, how did it ever happen, that they trust fairy-tale purveyors and mystic gurus more than reliable sources of scientific information?" Peter Aczel - The Audio Critic R.I.P. MQA 2014-2023: Hyped product thanks to uneducated, uncritical advocates & captured press. Link to comment
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