Ed₃

More often than not when you hear someone complain about the quality of music these days you’re hearing exactly that, a complaint regarding the quality of the music. Much rarely voiced, yet important to many are concerns regarding the quality of the sound itself – not the lyrics or qualitative observations regarding the performance, but quantitative, measurable observations about the quality of the mixing and mastering of the music. These factors may be often overlooked, yet have a profound effect on what you hear when you give your newly purchased CD a spin.

Once upon a time the mastering process for CDs was a subtle affair, adding a few finishing touches to improve the sound, without interfering with the qualities and nuances of the music itself. As Bob Dylan aptly put it however the times are a changin’ and for quite some time now this has not been the case. Since the early 90s, when it was discovered that louder music more readily seizes listener attention, the decision was made to “amplify” recordings at the mastering phase, effectively increasing the perceived loudness of the recording, even at a similar volume level on the equipment itself. This practice has continued, not unlike an escalating “arms race” and has compounded into what has become known as the “loudness war” where more and more artists are releasing artificially compressed recordings in order to sound louder than the competition.

The problem with this lies in the loss of what is known as “dynamic range”. For a good representation of what dynamic range is, just listen to some good classical, I would personally recommend Berlioz – Vallon Sonore from Les Troyens. With characteristic flamboyance this wonderful piece soars from a whisper to a thundering roar in an instant. This conveys passion, emotion, it imparts an ability to move the listener and that is the gift of music. However when a recording is increased in amplitude as a part of the mastering process, the difference between these quieter sounds and the louder ones are reduced (hence the use of the term compression) in order to achieve the overall increase in amplitude. The greater the increase in amplitude, the greater the loss in dynamic range and the more the music you love is robbed of its punch and it’s ability to move the listener.

This escalating and dangerous trend can even lead to “clipping” of the audio signal, which results in a harsh, distorted sound not unlike what you hear when turning the volume too high on a cheap integrated midi audio system. Not only does this sound unpleasant but can harm proper loudspeaker equipment due to the vastly increased heat in the tweeter and voice coils, due to the flattened sine wave! If listening to poorer quality music (and paying for it) is disappointing, damaging your equipment as a result is certainly unacceptable. A rather high profile example of this taking place is Metallica’s recently released album “Death Magnetic” which has been so mercilessly butchered during the post production phase that it sounds better in Guitar Hero than on the CD release of the album itself!

This raises the question, “Why continue with the loudness war?” What is needed now is for record companies to stop mutilating the efforts of their artists and release music unmolested with it’s original dynamic range and punch intact. Even if the CD sounds a little quieter, we have a volume knob on our hi-fis for a reason!

In a time when the RIAA is suing downloaders left right and center, one would assume the record companies would be keen to add value to music, selling quality recordings which are a pleasure to listen to. Instead however, they seem intent on throwing themselves on their swords by releasing over-compressed, flat sounding CDs which are every bit as awful as the lossy pirate files which flood the internet. I have always paid for my music, however I can see why many have lost the incentive, as music simply as no value anymore, it is over-compressed and has lost its passion.

Not to be overly melancholy, credit needs to be given where it is due. Some artists refuse to abide by this trend, continuing to release dynamic, well recorded music that is a joy to listen to. Bob Dylan for example released Modern Times with it’s dynamics and nuance intact (turn the volume up a little, that’s what it’s there for) and I daresay the same will be said about Together through life once it is released. Dylan’s music has always been well recorded, Blood on the tracks is one of the most open, dynamic and beautifully moving albums in my collection. Norah Jones thankfully also refuses to give in to the loudness war and releases albums which retain their warm, bluesy feel and warmth, music I will happily pay for as it is simply a joy to listen to.

If you own two copies of an older album (one original, one remastered) you can have a listen for yourself, the Joshua Tree by U2 is a fine example of remastering ruining a fine album. Not only do many new artists (Ting Tings, Lady GaGa anyone?)  lack originality and talent (a debate for another day) but the recording and objective sound quality of the music itself is under threat. We don’t need, or want excessive loudness at the line level, we have volume controls and know how to use them!

Thankfully, people are gathering together to voice their opposition to the “loudness war” and the attendant reduction in the listening pleasure in our music. If you would like to get involved, please join the Facebook groups “Bring Dynamic Range Back To Recorded Music.” and “Turn Me Up!”.

For further information you might also wish to visit the following:

Pleasurize Music Foundation: http://www.dynamicrange.de/
Turn me up!: http://www.turnmeup.org/
Wikipedia: Loudness War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war