Date:Wed, 11 Jul 2007 11:04:01 EDT
Reply-To:Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:[log in to unmask]Subject:Re: Fw: [ARSCLIST] Why new CDs sound worse
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In a message dated 7/11/2007 10:43:34 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
What a good treatise!
I remember hearing that compressed pumping sound on a DC-area country
station in 1980; even the anouncers sounded like that. It drove me nuts
but my brother (who liked the station) said he couldn't hear what I was
talking about. As music becomes more industrialized it becomes less
musical, but that's nothing new.
Dick
**************************
The commercial market has to be aimed at the masses. They are listening to
music in their cars, outdoors in a suburb, in the house with the dishwasher
running while the neighbor is mowing the lawn. Their acoustic signal-to-noise
ratio is about 25 db for their usual background listening. If the music they
are listening to has a 50 db range, they can't hear half of it.
They've become used to highly compressed sound and readily accept that they
now hear, but wouldn't accept something that simply fades to nothing but the
air conditioner during soft passages. I don't think you should blame the
producers for providing something they can hear.
The problem with sales of physical media is that the alternatives are so
much more convenient. With satellite radio and iPods why fiddle with discs?
With today's hyper life style, most people no longer have the time or the space
to sit down and quietly listen seriously to music. One should hope that
there are enough affluent individuals with time and listening environments to
support a high quality sound market similar to the prerecorded tape market of
the '60s, but that has to compete with the home theater now.
Times and technology have changed. It doesn't do much good to keep
complaining about it.
Mike Csontos
************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
