In article , Don
Pearce
wrote:
Glenn Richards wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:

That is a big difference, but why would they bother to do it that
way?

Two words. Loudness war.

If you master it 6dB lower then it'll be 6dB quieter than everyone
else's CD. And that would never do.


But an HDCD disc doesn't play back correctly on a conventional player -
it is actually distorted. When it is played back as intended it is
identical to mastering 6dB lower and allowing the high peaks. So
loudness doesn't come into it.

In addition the "loudness war" has lead people into making CDs with an
effective dynamic range of the order of 1dB or so. Whereas natural music
tends to need about 15dB or more for peak/mean ratios even if we ignore the
normal range of expressive dynamics. I can't see HDCD having much effect on
the driods who produce CDs with such excessively compressed (and clipped)
CDs.

But by using HDCD's Peak Extend you can satisfy the marketing droids
at the record label ("louder is better" etc) without ****ing off
people with decent kit too much.

Alas, the problem may be far too bad for that to work if you are only
offerring 6dB. Also I can't help feeling that the people who apply such
massive compression and clipping are hardly likely to give any thought to
anyone who finds that objectionable. They *know* sic "loudness sells* so
cannae be bothered. Their interest is money, not music.

Slainte,

Jim

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