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 j2brown
Commodore
Joined: Feb 22, 2002
Member#: 9
Posts: 3188
Location: Sterling, VA
    
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 Posted:
Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:28 am Post subject: Why New Music Doesn't Sound As Good As It Did |
 
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I'm sure the educated folks here can add further detail to this:
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/33549
jeff
sdg |
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 jackkerouac127
Lieutenant
Joined: Nov 04, 2003
Member#: 3569
Posts: 143
Location: Long Beach, CA
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Posted:
Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:49 am Post subject: |
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This makes perfect sense. Its like zooming in on a picture file. The closer you zoom in, the worse the picture quality gets. When I teach dynamics to my beginning music students, a great contrast to the concept I use is music on the radio. Radio music stays the same dynamic, and we (the class) need to show contrasting dynamics when we play.
Cool article j2brown. |
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 alien_avatar
Captain
Joined: Oct 28, 2006
Member#: 16007
Posts: 1342
Location: Berlin
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Posted:
Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:35 am Post subject: |
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LOL... I guess I'm one of those undiscerning listeners who equals loud with good. I have to admit that I never even noticed that newer CDs sound less clear than older ones.... 
The volume difference I have noticed, but all it ever did was annoy me. I mostly set my music to shuffle and I dislike having to fiddle with the volume knob all the time.
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 ld80061
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Joined: Jul 01, 2007
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Posts: 169
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Posted:
Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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As the article says, modern audio equipment comes with a volume dial - usually multiple ones!
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LadyInque
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Joined: May 20, 2005
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Posts: 2224
Location: Eastern Massachusetts
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Tue Jul 31, 2007 7:42 am Post subject: |
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I wonder if this trend has affected, and to what degree, non-pop albums, like score soundtracks, classical music, and opera. You would think that those listeners might be more discerning, or at least, less seduced by just making everything louder.
"And I like my music like I like my life
Everything Louder than Everything Else!"
-- Meat Loaf |
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Furyen
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Joined: Aug 23, 2002
Member#: 196
Posts: 254
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Posted:
Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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I'm sure we're all waiting for some new renaissance period to come around and change our creative patterns on music.
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 genericdragon
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Joined: Jul 29, 2004
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Posts: 706
Location: Over Hill and Under Wood
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Posted:
Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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interesting article J2.
I will add, even though it has little to do with the article, that vinyl recordings are actually a better quality than CDs... they just don't last as long.
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Furyen
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Joined: Aug 23, 2002
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Posted:
Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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I DISAGREE!!! 
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genericdragon
Commander
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Location: Over Hill and Under Wood
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Posted:
Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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you disagree on what furyen? that my comment has little to do with the article or that vinyl is better than CD?
or both... 
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"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
"The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children." ~ King Edward VIII (1894 - 1972) |
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Furyen
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Aug 23, 2002
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Posts: 254
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Posted:
Wed Aug 01, 2007 2:45 am Post subject: |
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| genericdragon wrote: |
| you disagree on what furyen? that my comment has little to do with the article or that vinyl is better than CD? |
I disagree with Myself.
I've actually tested that theory years ago on which sounds better. I found (if the pops and cracks were screened out from the vinyls) that they do sound almost alike. (And I strain the word "almost") But in the end, CD wins.
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mrfinnigan
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Joined: Sep 02, 2007
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Location: Littleton, MA
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Posted:
Mon Sep 03, 2007 12:16 am Post subject: |
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Of course the vinyl is higher quality and tends to have "ritcher" sound. The entire process of digitizing and compressing music is "destructive"... that is, it has to remove parts of the sound in order to work. Binary can only hold so much information, you know. However, most compression techniques use "smart" algorithms that take out pitches that the ear tends to not hear... such as sounds below 20 Hz or above 20 KHz (20,000 Hz) and slowly works its way inward. Besides, CDs last longer than records anyway.
Anyways, I get what they're trying to say (I worked as a sound board tech for 2 years). Adding volume actually degrades the louder parts, making you able to hear background parts more clearly at the expense of the foreground.
Alien_avatar: why don't you get a media player that has Sound Check, like iTunes?
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If Music be the food of love, play on,
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weaponlordzero
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Joined: Sep 15, 2006
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Location: Louisville, KY USA
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Posted:
Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:33 am Post subject: |
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I am the audio engineer at the church I go to. I have a hard time with the audio compression because the pastor wants the "modern" skwished loud sound, but he wants his voice to sound a certain way (i.e.- with dynamics). He doesn't really understand how you get the skwished sound (yes I'm spelling that wrong on purpose), but he doesn't care. That's what he wants. Period. Personally, I think having the compression helps to a certain degree to be able to hear and distinguish the many instruments in the composition. However, just having one blast of volume and no variation can be tiring and boring at the same time. Listen to classical music sometime. Their skill is often reflected in the difference between the very quiet and very loud. Ask a seasoned player (especially a brass player to play soft then loud). Those dynamics were what kept the listener interested and helped the composer illustrate feelings.
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alien_avatar
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Joined: Oct 28, 2006
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Posts: 1342
Location: Berlin
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Posted:
Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:49 am Post subject: |
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@mrfinnigan: I was mostly talking about listening to music over headphones while walking down a noisy street or riding the subway or something of that sort. I've thought about my "problem" and I think it's mostly about having different types of music on my iPod (mostly metal and STs)... and the STs are almost always less loud than my other music. But I think that might just be because they're sort of different...
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mrfinnigan
Cadet 3
Joined: Sep 02, 2007
Member#: 18731
Posts: 13
Location: Littleton, MA
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Posted:
Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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@alien: I belive the Sound Check on iTunes carries over to the iPod, but it's been a while since I've had an iPod (the consequence of living a very active lifestyle).
I worked at my church audio board (before I moved  ) and I was lucky to have a pastor that understood the basic ideas of sound (what "Loudness" controls do, floor mics, booms, etc). He also backed off and let me do my job (thank God), but we never really got into digital audio recording (two tape decks and a reel-to-reel... yay!) until just before I left, so I don't really know how that worked out.
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If Music be the food of love, play on,
give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and die. |
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