Comments on: JFA – We Care About The Sound

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:10:52 +0000

Hendrix, for “people who like compressed audio” there are a range of alternative options available – iTunes Soundcheck, Replay Gain, various audio-processing software, “night-mode” controls etc. People can make their own compression-adjustments and compressed mixtapes/album-copies if they wish. But the REVERSE is NOT true – destroyed dynamics and details CANNOT be recovered. So if the music industry were to start releasing dynamic, instead of over-compressed, versions, then there would be no problem – those who like dynamic sound can happily leave the music as it is, and those who want a compressed sound can create their own versions using the audio-processing mentioned above. As it is, they are LOSING part of their market, because people who want to hear music in all its splendour – with dynamics and detail – are simply not willing to purchase products that have already had all their musical qualities stripped away. So they are actually currently making LESS money than they would if they were to start releasing records with proper dynamic range.

By: Hendrix

Hendrix — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:43:42 +0000

If all the compression was removed tomorrow you’d have loads of people complaining about having to turn the volume up in their cars and on their mp3 players. Unfortunately there are plenty of people who like compressed audio. The only way this is going to be resolved is if the music industry is persuaded there is enough people wanting to purchase alternative higher quality / lower compression versions to make it commercially viable.

By: Gos

Gos — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:30:16 +0000

I have to agree with Michael Fremer, when he said that brickwalled music will cause listener fatigue, causing people to want to turn it down or find something else to listen to.

I, for one, want to continue to listen to music that makes me want to say, “Turn it UUUUP!”

A friend of mine remastered DM to non-brickwalled standards, using tracks he ripped from the Guitar Hero game, and it sounds fuckin awesome — makes the WB release sound like like a turdpounder with cheese by comparison.

— Gos
— gos@nerosopeningact.com
“Turn it UUUUP!”

By: Emerson Prado

Emerson Prado — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:28:47 +0000

+1
I wanna hear the damn music! Let ‘em stop this loudness nonsense! I have a volume knob in my amp!
Wholeheartedly hoping JFA and TurnMeUp get something done.
http://www.turnmeup.org/
Keep up!

By: Redthahat

Redthahat — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:59:21 +0000

Just showing some support for the cause. I’m doing what I can to spread the awareness, it’s an exciting time to be involved in something like this!!
Cheers!

By: Imperium

Imperium — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:56:08 +0000

Here’s a petition I created to raise awareness to the LOUDNESS trend in music today. Let’s get as many people to sign this as we can.

Spread the word.

http://www.gopetition.com/online/22419.html

By: Locutus

Locutus — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:28:54 +0000

My first realization that this has gone too far came in 1998 with KISS’ Psycho Circus. Talk about some pretty good songs being ruined by making them ‘louder’ than the other guys. Anyway, this trend has even made “remastered” a warning rather than an affirmation of quality. Proof of this came with the second remastering of Journey’s catalog. Steve Perry commented that they have more detail & the subtle nuances are much more apparent. Even a non-audiophile knows what that means & they don’t compare to the fantastic SBM issues of the late 90’s.
I think we are left with 2 generations of music listeners that have no clue how music is supposed to sound. This does not require a high end setup to hear either. The difference is obvious on a modest system or PC/Mp3 player if the source is of sufficient quality. Ripping at 128k & playing on a cheap all-in-one system does not qualify as high fidelity, but how can they tell the difference if all they hear is the volume & thinks that’s good enough?
The trend of riding that 0db mark leads to listener fatigue quickly & makes the untrained listener say “I’m tired of this, I’ll play something else”. Maybe that’s a hidden element of the marketing to make music just another disposeable commodity instead of something to enjoy, appreciate & revisit like an old friend.

By: carfreak54

carfreak54 — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:37:56 +0000

I would love to hear some old recordings that you were talking about. Do you think you could record some, then upload them somewhere?

By: Michael Fremer

Michael Fremer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:34:04 +0000

The deterioration of recorded sound quality has been ongoing since the mid 1980s. It cannot get much worse than it is now.

The worst part is, most listeners don’t really give a shit. In fact, few people actually listen to music anymore. They hear it while doing other stuff but don’t really sit down and LISTEN to the exclusion of other activities (commuting, cooking, screwing, exercising, etc.)

Music has become a background think thanks to crappy sound and even crappier so-called “audio systems,” consisting of a computer or Mp3 player and some tiny speakers in a plastic box.

That has nothing to do with good sound or a good audio experience. No wonder music’s faded into the backdrop. This has happened because computer geeks have taken over writing about consumer electronics. Computer geeks know nothing about what constitutes good sound. They know good computers.

However, I believe in the case of the Metallica release (CD and 5 LP box), it was an artistic decision, not a case of gross ineptitude, which is what it’s really come down to most often.

That said, this site and the passion of the people fed up with the “loudness wars” may yet feed a revival of the great sound of the recordings from the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and for part of the ’80s.

When I play “old records” for kids weaned on MP3s they FLIP OUT! They hear dynamics, frequency extension, air, textures, cymbal shimmers instead of crunches and a sonic picture they can “see.”

Most of this has been lost to bad digital, bad sounding boards, mixes down on NS-10Ms and other shitty speakers and general ignorance about what constitutes good sound.

The world is going high definition visually and ultra-low definition sonically. This trend must be reversed!!! So keep it up!!!!!

By: Destructavator

Destructavator — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:10:55 +0000

I think there already is such a list of the worst offenders on the internet, I saw it somewhere but can’t remember where it was, I don’t have a link handy (sorry!), but regarding the Metallica CD, I agree the tunes are good, but the final product isn’t, because of the clipping. On a side note, I’m glad I just discovered this website, I agree with the cause. What I don’t get is when other musicians like myself, especially ones that I’ve seen who are younger than I am (I’m 30) record something on a DAW and think it is cool to over-compress it in mastering so it sounds just like the recent crap out there in the loudness war. Then again, it might just be their age, having not been around when music was mastered and put on cassette/CD properly, I don’t really know…