Article: Dynamic Range: No Quiet = No Loud

[atmfrank]

Coming to this read very late. I have been accused being a walking music lexicon, having started with The Beat Club on B&W German TV in the 60ties. From all the countless music recordings I have listened to in every imaginable format since then, there are still only a handful good recordings that stand out. The articles mentions a few. But compression is just one of many problems that make music less enjoyable, or in some cases unlistenable despite brilliant music artistry. I hate to say it, and it is really not my preferred music style at all, Jazz in the Pawnshop is a prime example where the sound is "right", DR included (I have no idea what the actual rating is). The reason for the good sound is the simplicity of the recording method, a few Neuman U47 in perfect "stereo" alignment, plus KM56's for the piano, Studer mixer, NR unit and two Nagra tape recorders. 

 

Multi-track recording of rock music is obviously a different beast, but I still believe that simplicity should be the first order to generate a truely acurate and engaging image of a recording session. It starts at the source, where the music is recorded, live on stage or in the studio. Everything downstream just adds a level of alteration of the orginal sound. The MQA folks have a point wanting to retain control over the entire downstream until it hits our ears. 

 

Interestingly, I find examples of superior DR in some of today's EDM productions, completely electronically generated with sophisticated software that allows the artist to maintain complete control over the music recording and mastering process. Just because of this, I like to listen to pounding, high DR musical EDM content on streaming Internet radio stations, in 24bit/96 FLAC format. Straight from the horse's mouth, unaltered and enjoyable. 

 

Cheers,