"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
In article , Richard Steinfeld
wrote:
Jim Lesurf wrote:
FM is pretty bad, too, with "psychoacoustic" compression applied.
IIUC BBC R3 here vary their use of this. Can sound good at times IMHO.
So they really vary their compression? I went through a factory where
they make these "psychoacoustics" boxes a few years ago; I didn't
recall seeing adjustments on them. But I wasn't looking either.
It is certainly my impression that the amount of level compression on BBC
R3 FM does vary with time of day, etc. So mid-day or 'drive time'
broadcasts seem more compressed than 'live' evening concerts. I think
others who listen to R3 FM also have this experience.
FWIW I also have the impression that the BBC do not apply the same amount
of level compression to DAB R3 (and presumably DTTV R3) as they do to FM.
I
am investigating this by measurement, but I don't have all the result s as
yet.
However I think that most other UK stations (inc BBC ones) tend to apply
level compression rather more than on R3!
Classical music is usually the most stringent test of reproduction,
and we've got almost none of that. On stations that broadcast popular
music, the dynamic range in the US is 2-3 dB.
Bit like many of the non-R3 stations here.
What are "R3" and "non-R3?"
"R3" means BBC Radio 3. This is the BBC UK rqdio station/channel for
'classical music'
"non-R3" means "all the UK stations other than BBC R3". :-)
FWIW We have 'Classic FM' which broadcasts what you'd expect from the
name.
But tends to apply rather more level compression than R3. Most other
stations tend to be speech or various forms of 'popular music'. Generally
heavily compressed.
The reason why I almost never listen to FM is because here in the San
Francisco area, we have only one classical broadcaster, a commercial
station that doesn't play complete works, but a single movement of
something, then a loud blasting commercial, then a single movement of
something else. Who needs this?
I'd agree. I would also not bother to listen to such a station.
[snip]
To my ear, what I hear is "companding." In the mix, sound that gets
louder in one aspect is subtracted in level from another aspect. In
popular music, the traditional way that this is applied is that when the
singer is singing, the band is "ducked" under. This gives the singer
consistent punch through the background; the singer always has
prominence. This is different from many old opera recordings, in which
the singers are simply recorded way too loud so that you can't make out
what the orchestra is doing.
[snip]
The effect upon this listener is that there's something wrong with the
sound. In pop music, it almost doesn't matter. I mean, Top-40 material
has almost always bored or irritated me (the trouble is that I know too
much about music -- I hear the cheap tricks). In what classical we have
here in the US (which is next to nothing; really nothing in most of the
country), there's a certain "mushing" -- a patina of mush over the sound
-- an absence of true clarity.
I tend to find that when the level compression on 'classical' music is
excessive it just makes the result 'boring' as the dynamic contrasts are
removed. Most absurd example in my experience is Ravel's Bolero on Classic
FM. This *should* slowly grow in sound level and intensity from start to
finish. But on Classic FM it remains at pretty much the same perceived
level throughout - which rather defeats the main purpose of the work!
Slainte,
Jim
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Jim,
Radio 3 use the Optimod on FM during the day, and have it effectively turned
off during the evening. The Orban 8400 which is used by Radio 3 has the
ability to change the amount of processing both remote-controlled and on a
time basis. It is possible (but I don't know this for sure) that Radio 3 is
compressed more heavily during "drive times", less so during the rest of the
day, and not at all in the evening. Currently, Radio 3 on digital platforms
is not being processed, but this may change at any time.
S.
S.