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It's not just about volume. Tracks mastered with a ton of compression trick your brain into sounding louder than they really are, which is great for a song or t

It's not just about volume. Tracks mastered with a ton of compression trick your brain into sounding louder than they really are, which is great for a song or two (or if you want pay people to pay attention to your tv commercial), but for listening to a whole album it wears you out. If you have an album you love but somehow never make it all the way through this is probably why. The perception of full volume gets your lizard brain aroused, which is great if you're in the club, but not if you're in the mood to listen to the first three Led Zeppelin records in a row. On the other hand, older recordings with more dynamic range might sound thin at low volume, but are much richer at higher volumes (you can hear the individual instruments better and feel the space in the sound). If you try comparing older and newer masterings at a good volume the newer mastering usually sounds kinda mushy.

hashmal 9y ago
Not only it wears you out, but it can be dangerous, especially in clubs. The longer you listen to loud music (can be just a few minutes!), the more damage is done. Having music with a wide dynamic range helps to have an overall lower volume and preserve ears.
- lflux 9y ago
  In Sweden, night clubs have a different time period for sound pressure exposure limits than concerts[0] (15 minutes instead of 60), partially due to the difference in dynamic range. [0] https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/globalassets/livsvillkor-levnadsvanor/halsoskydd-miljohalsa/inomhusmiljo/buller/sp-info-2004-45-egenkontroll.pdf https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/globalassets/livsvillkor... §5.1.2 vs §5.2.3
elmar 9y ago
Today if you want dynamic range you have to buy Vinyl or lossless downloads. http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger+Waters&album=is+this+the http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger+Waters&a... http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger%20Waters http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger%20Waters
- sjwright 9y ago
  Occasionally that's true, very often it's not. Looking at your second link, there's only one album that has been substantively remastered. (And that better mastering could have been distributed on CD or through iTunes, presumably they just didn't bother to do so.)
- cr1895 9y ago
  No, it still depends how it was mastered. You can have crap sounding vinyl and lossless, too.
  - elmar 9y ago
    yes you are right you can have very crappy sounding vinyl, your best bet is vinyl but you always do your research. Unfortunately SACD is dead and even on SACD the CD tracks can be a diferent mastering and very diferent from the SACD track.
    - elmar 9y ago
      39 essential albums for audiophiles https://www.stuff.tv/features/39-essential-albums-audiophiles https://www.stuff.tv/features/39-essential-albums-audiophile...

hashmal 9y ago

Not only it wears you out, but it can be dangerous, especially in clubs. The longer you listen to loud music (can be just a few minutes!), the more damage is done. Having music with a wide dynamic range helps to have an overall lower volume and preserve ears.

lflux 9y ago
In Sweden, night clubs have a different time period for sound pressure exposure limits than concerts[0] (15 minutes instead of 60), partially due to the difference in dynamic range. [0] https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/globalassets/livsvillkor-levnadsvanor/halsoskydd-miljohalsa/inomhusmiljo/buller/sp-info-2004-45-egenkontroll.pdf https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/globalassets/livsvillkor... §5.1.2 vs §5.2.3

elmar 9y ago

Today if you want dynamic range you have to buy Vinyl or lossless downloads. http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger+Waters&album=is+this+the http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger+Waters&a... http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger%20Waters http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Roger%20Waters

sjwright 9y ago
Occasionally that's true, very often it's not. Looking at your second link, there's only one album that has been substantively remastered. (And that better mastering could have been distributed on CD or through iTunes, presumably they just didn't bother to do so.)
cr1895 9y ago
No, it still depends how it was mastered. You can have crap sounding vinyl and lossless, too.
- elmar 9y ago
  yes you are right you can have very crappy sounding vinyl, your best bet is vinyl but you always do your research. Unfortunately SACD is dead and even on SACD the CD tracks can be a diferent mastering and very diferent from the SACD track.
  - elmar 9y ago
    39 essential albums for audiophiles https://www.stuff.tv/features/39-essential-albums-audiophiles https://www.stuff.tv/features/39-essential-albums-audiophile...