Old message snipped at bottom for some context. Udhay
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/217383.html Can a Metallica album be too loud? The very thought might seem heretical to fans of the metal band, which has been splitting eardrums since the early 1980s. But even though Metallica's ninth studio release, “Death Magnetic,” is No. 1 on the album chart, with 827,000 copies sold in two weeks, some fans are bitterly disappointed: not by the songs or the performance, but the volume. It's so loud, they say, you can't hear details of the music. “Death Magnetic” is a flashpoint in a long-running music-industry fight. Over the years, rock and pop artists have increasingly sought to make their recordings sound louder to stand out on the radio, jukeboxes and, especially, iPods. But audiophiles, recording professionals and some fans say the extra sonic wallop comes at a steep price. To make recorded music seem louder, engineers must reduce the “dynamic range,” minimizing the difference between the soft and loud parts and creating a tidal wave of aural blandness. <snip> > On Sun, Dec 30, 2007 at 1:55 PM, Udhay Shankar N <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> More reading on the most egregious symptom of this issue: >>> >>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/8821 >>> >>> http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1878724.ece >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war >> Another overview from _Rolling Stone_, which has links to lots more >> information: >> >> http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17777619/the_death_of_high_fidelity/print -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
