Are the loudness wars fake so record companies can destroy the music?

Well, I personally don’t think there is anything sinister about businesses wanting to maximize profits. I’m not saying that business doesn’t and cannot serve other purposes but money is usually the reason there is a business at all.


And I agree, money drives the nature of the commodity.

However, just because something has a certain feature does not mean that that feature is what makes that thing sell even when the business that makes that thing believes that the feature is what makes it sell. In other words, they might think DR compression sells but I’m not certain that is true. At least not in a linear fashion.

For example there is plenty of popular music coming out in which the DR (according to the database) averages around 5. To me, this is unlistenable on a hi-fi system and tolerable on ear buds or in the car. On the other hand a song with a DR of 9 can sound okay on a hi-fi system and just as good in the car or with ear buds. My point being I think the industry convinced itself that more compression = more money. I don’t think that is true.

N80, just a comment. You posted,

"Vinyl seems less likely to be but is hardly immune. So the format is not the issue."

How is an LP, recorded and mastered on a digital deck a different format than a CD. The compression and other insults occur in the mix for the master tape/file.

Also you mention Mark Knopfler but I seem to remember early Dire Straits digital recordings that were pressed to vinyl that were awful. Huge sound stage, remarkable dynamic range, improbable separation, 20-20K response, all the good things that come with great sound without great sound.

Compression of the type employed in the ’noise wars’ is a function of digital mastering/editing. In the analog domain compression, like everything else, is quite tricky and has to employed with skill and discretion if you don’t want to get laughed out of the studio.

Lastly, you said recently that there is nothing wrong with businesses wanting to maximize profit. While this is true as a standalone statement, when examined in light of what SOME companies and individuals are willing to do to maximize profit it becomes a little less innocuous. ’Wanting’ someone dead is a lot different than murder.

Its all about how its recorded onto the media be it Vinyl, CD, digital download ... I've just been listening to Tony Minasian's produced Drums & Bells compairing sticks CD and it shows just how good 16bit CD can be ..

@russashe, to respond to your comments I will address them individually.


"How is an LP, recorded and mastered on a digital deck a different format than a CD. The compression and other insults occur in the mix for the master tape/file."


I did not make any claims as to how or why. I only cited what has been observed and documented. Again, I have a CD by the Tesky Brothers. I own it and it sounds compressed, and it is according to the DR database.  I also own the vinyl LP. It does not sound compressed and in fact it sounds very well recorded. According to the DR database it is less compressed than the CD. I have seen many more examples of this.
One can only conclude that the compression does not take place until final mastering and in some, if not many, cases, the vinyl shows less compression.


"Also you mention Mark Knopfler but I seem to remember early Dire Straits digital recordings that were pressed to vinyl that were awful. Huge sound stage, remarkable dynamic range, improbable separation, 20-20K response, all the good things that come with great sound without great sound."


Well, first off I'm referring to Knopfler's solo work and not Dire Straits. And not all of his solo work is recorded with low levels of compression but a lot of it is and it sounds that way. Second, I don't remember Dire Straits albums sounding bad back in college and my roommate had a rather nice hi-fi system. But I can't make any claims about my perception of sound quality back then. Probably pretty poor.


"Compression of the type employed in the ’noise wars’ is a function of digital mastering/editing. In the analog domain compression, like everything else, is quite tricky and has to employed with skill and discretion if you don’t want to get laughed out of the studio."


Agreed. But I think it requires skill and discretion regardless of the format. It can and has been done effectively and artistically within the digital format. So it is not a unicorn....but it might be a platypus.


"Lastly, you said recently that there is nothing wrong with businesses wanting to maximize profit. While this is true as a standalone statement, when examined in light of what SOME companies and individuals are willing to do to maximize profit it becomes a little less innocuous. ’Wanting’ someone dead is a lot different than murder."


I made no claims about what people might do in the name of profits. Anything can be made evil  and nothing about the nature of business makes that more or less true than it is with anything else.

WHY WOULD THE MUSIC INDUSTRY ACTIVELY SEEK THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SOUND QUALITY OF MUSIC???!!!

I think a fairer question might be would the music industry limit the absolute quality of sound in order to make that same sound APPEAR to be of higher quality to the bulk of listeners who use compromised devices and supposedly make up most of the purchases?  Might get a different answer.  They could probably find a better but less 'cost-effective' way to do the same thing.  If they cared.