New CD's mixed LOUD???

[Stoiven]

Someone help either validate what I am noticing or dispell my insanity. Is it me...or are the bulk of todays CD's mixed so loud that clipping is happening. Nearly all of the hottest artists I pick up on CD have been mixed so close to the digital limit (0dB) that when a kick drum hits or there are many transients...a small (or large) amount of distortion can be heard on my system. Now...if I play these cd's through a boom box or a "regular" stereo...I do not notice the distortion as much. But when I run them through my car stereo, I can hear it even at the lowest volume possible. Can someone explain what is going on here? I am losing my mind. Why would this distortion not be as evident on all audio equipment???

[This Guy]

I noticed something like that on a couple of my red hot chili peppers cd's. Whenever the guitar really gets into it, I notice some distortion in the right speaker...it sounded like a low bitrate MP3. I flip flopped my right and left speakers and this faint distortion still persists. All my other cd's were fine though. It sounded like the guitar amp was clipping, really quite annoying because I love those cd's.

[Stoiven]

I noticed something like that on a couple of my red hot chili peppers cd's. Whenever the guitar really gets into it, I notice some distortion in the right speaker...it sounded like a low bitrate MP3. I flip flopped my right and left speakers and this faint distortion still persists. All my other cd's were fine though. It sounded like the guitar amp was clipping, really quite annoying because I love those cd's.

Yes...this is probably a good example. I would really love to hear of others experiences with this distortion in todays recordings. I just wrote Bob Ludwig who is a big name in the Mastering industry asking him about the trend in todays CD's. We shall see if I get an answer. But it is obvious to me that there is a push to make CD's louder and it is crushing the quality in the process.

[Stoiven]

This is too cool...I just got a reply from Bob Ludwig himself regarding recordings today. He kindly answered two questions for me.

Hi Stephen,

** is there a pressure to master CD's at this high level..
YES! It has only been POSSIBLE to do it with the invention of digital domain "look-ahead" limiters which are about 10 yrs old now.

.and is it ultimately hindering sound quality??
YES! It probably contributes to the lack of sales as much as anything I bet.
Who wants to put on a record and listen a second time when it is such an assault?
I always say I'm glad they weren't invented when the Beatles were making records!
Compression CAN be a good thing for pop music, but generally it's over the top now. It CAN'T go much higher than it is because there is physically no more room left.

Bob


So...a little validation. I just hope that more people push back on the record labels to TURN IT DOWN!! Please...post your thoughts.

[cam]

This has nothing to do with a mix that is too loud. But Theory Of A Deadman has a song called Make Up Your Mind and right at the beginning Where he says "make up your mind and I'll make up mine" you can hear his voice crackling. It doesn't matter what volume. I thought maybe my speakers were resonating. I took that disc to do some demoing at Audio/Video. We used an Anthem amp with Studio 20's and same thing. I can't believe that they mass produced this flaw. I guess it is like proof reading an essay, something can always be missed.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

This is too cool...I just got a reply from Bob Ludwig himself regarding recordings today. He kindly answered two questions for me.

Hi Stephen,

** is there a pressure to master CD's at this high level..
YES! It has only been POSSIBLE to do it with the invention of digital domain "look-ahead" limiters which are about 10 yrs old now.

.and is it ultimately hindering sound quality??
YES! It probably contributes to the lack of sales as much as anything I bet.
Who wants to put on a record and listen a second time when it is such an assault?
I always say I'm glad they weren't invented when the Beatles were making records!
Compression CAN be a good thing for pop music, but generally it's over the top now. It CAN'T go much higher than it is because there is physically no more room left.

Bob


So...a little validation. I just hope that more people push back on the record labels to TURN IT DOWN!! Please...post your thoughts.

Use the search engine and put in the words SACD vs CD unfair competition, there is a looooooooooooong drawn out thread that discusses this in great detail. This is a marketing issue, not a mixing or mastering issue. Its the marketing departments at the studios who have pushed this trend, not the audio or mastering engineers. If you want them to quit the practice, then stop buying CD, and write to the studios and tell them why you are doing it. When the money stops rolling in, the studios tend to listen a little more carefully.

The reality is it doesn't hurt sound quality until it hits digital 0 or maximum peak for long periods of time. Otherwise you can just turn down the volume, and never know its been compressed to death. I mean what point of reference could you compare it to?

As far as guitars and distortion, they have been best friends for years now!

[Stoiven]

Agreed about the labels pushing the trend. I apologize for suggesting that it was a problem with the masterers. They obviously know what to do...they are just being forced to do this to the recordings.

[Stoiven]

Also...when you say it doesn't matter until it hits 0dB for long periods of time...this is true....but when you have 1000+ clipped signals over the course of a song it is truly noticeable in a big way. Everytime a bass kickdrum hits....SMUSH...you lose detail in the other instruments. It is most prevelant in rock music.

[toenail]

And all this time I thought I was losing my mind. I had previously not been able to figure out why many new cd's were sounding distorted when pushed even a little. The above posts explain it perfectly. How unfortunate for those who enjoy listening to the actual details of the music.