To what degree DR reflects SQ?

[CatManDo]

DR is only relevant to detect highly compressed productions. It was a reaction to the loudness war, to make it easier to check an album release, as excessive compression is by far the most frequent mastering flaw. The times of extreme EQ choices (boosted treble especially) are fortunately over.

 

So it doesn't matter if a release has DR13 or 15, both are fine and you can forget about it.

 

In my experience, DR7 and lower seriously impacts the sound quality. It will sound lifeless and fatiguing. It depends on the type of music too. And it's important whether compression has been applied smoothly or the release has been "brick walled" by using a limiter, which will add harshness to the sound.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

 

I also use the DR measurement tool to quickly find out if two releases of the same album are identical (look at the dB values, not just the overall DR value).