Why Does All Music Sound the Same; An Explanation

I think the theme from Star Wars was lifted largely from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

I don't think the point of this discussion is to say that all compression is bad. When it is used as a tool to improve a recording I don't think anyone objects.

But, let me repeat something I've been saying over and over again. This is not just an issue with pop throwaway music. The loudness wars have penetrated into music and artists who are and should be appreciated by audiophiles. In my naivety I find that shocking that such artists would allow that to happen to their work. The point being, as audiophiles we can't just look down our noses and assume this is only a problem for the Big Mac eaters and Yugo drivers. It is affecting our foie gras and BMWs too.

The long term use of hypercompression in the mastering studio has finally killed pop music. Not only does it suck out all the dynamic range out of the music, in so doing it scrubs all emotional content as well.

Hahaha, there is no bottom in terms of what the listeners will accept for pop music. It will never die from mere mistreatment.

I just got The Struts new CD Young and Dangerous released on the 26th. I've mentioned before that this is a new band that I like. It is glam/pop/rock. Their first CD was highly compressed and loud as heck. This album has some slightly more serious and thoughtful content so I was hoping it would be recorded better.

Popped it in the CDP and loudness was there immediately but I thought it was no worse or maybe slightly better than the first album. But the inevitable happens, you feel like you are missing something and that volume will help....this is rock music....but it doesn't, it makes it worse.

Sad about this because at first I thought this would just be a grooving in the car type album but I'm finding that there are some songs I might like to sit and listen to. As much as Queen for instance. But not with this recording.

Went to the DR database site not expecting to see the album there but someone has already tested it. Average DR is 5. Lowest is 4. Best is 6. About the same is the first album.

Oddly, even though they were loud live there was very little distortion and vocals were sharp and clear and there was excellent distinction between the instruments. The sound guy got the piano wrong a few times but that was not a loudness issue.

Just disgusted.

Great find! Thanks for sharing.

I just got a used copy of Tedeschi Trucks' "Revelator" CD in the mail today.

The DR database gives it an average DR of 10 on the CD and 11 on the vinyl. You do notice the loudness a little. Other than that it sounds pretty good to me. Certainly not up there with what I consider my reference CDs (12-16 range and flawless production) but I'm perfectly satisfied with it. Clearly and immediately of superior sound quality (all other factors taken into account) compared to recordings in the 5-6 range. Glad they made the effort. Wish they would take it up to the next level.