Why Does All Music Sound the Same; An Explanation

BEing the devil’s advocate...

Another interesting aspect of modern recordings is that the focus on loud bass makes accurate reproduction on a home system at higher volumes more challenging than ever. Any traditional under-powered system won’t have a chance at accurately delivering what is there at louder volume like the recording is designed for FBOFW. If it can though the results might have some unique appeal even for audiophiles.
Shouldn’t any true hi end system be able to reproduce any recording accurately, including very loud ones?  The easy solution in many cases these days is a good quality powered sub which was unheard of 40 years ago.


Also if one takes a sound meter (try an app on your smartphone) and measures the background noise in many rooms of their home, they might be shocked. The background noise in my family room which is directly above my furnace in the level below and opens up to the kitchen and all the appliances running in there is shockingly high!

Background noise levels in cars are out of sight. So thank god for recordings that are actually louder than the background so one might actually be able to hear them in cases like that.


Most people do not have a sound proofed listening room at home these days. I’m lucky I actually have at least one out of many that I was able to make that way when the house was built.

I have read this article a few times, and the author is not wrong, but it applies to a very small percentage of music that is created every year around the world.

If you think all music sounds the same you really need to change the station.

Best,
E

mapman said:

" Shouldn’t any true hi end system be able to reproduce any recording accurately, including very loud ones? "

I do not understand the concept that better equipment can compensate for compressed dynamic range (the end result of excessive loudness). If it isn't there how can you fix it?

@erik_squires , IMO, it applies to a very large percentage of music produced in terms of sales, airplay, downloads.

You're correct that the number of recording artists this applies to is small in the grand scheme.

But the Loudness Wars also applies to classic rock and music recorded in the analogue age. Their re-releases now being sold as "remastered," meaning the recordings have been improved.

Only a small percentage have been improved by digital doctoring.