Everyone seems to regard compression as the ultimate evil these days. Not me. I listen to classical CD's in the car a lot - this is very problematic.

Yes, it is. Maybe that problem should be solved with the CD players designed for cars? Such as built in compression?

If they have not compressed the sound sufficiently I spend the entire journey turning the volume up to hear the quiet passages and down to save my ears in the louder passages.

And when you play that CD on ypour expensive system at home, or the audiophile does, what do you think will be the response? Wow, what a great recording?

[(Try it yourself - get a Deutche Grammaphon Dvorak 9th - Karajan. Play from the beginning - for me it is 30 seconds of silence followed by a loan french horn and then on audible music - or 30 seconds of delicacy, a bearable horn and then a ceresendo of kettle drums at around 1 minute in that could blow my eardrums inside out).

No need to try. I know the issue a car offers with a noise floor of about 65dB +/- you will miss a whole lot. Why would I want that compressed CD playing at home? No life in it, nothing resembling the performance. Maybe one should listen to the radio in the car?

Now I am prepared to accept a lesser compression for home use - but nothing like the ranges you guys are talking about. 96 dB range - are you all insane??

Some time in the not too distant past I read where the most dynamic classical recording at the time only had a 70dB +/- . What he ws discussing is that the peaks were clipped, compresses, distorted. Not needed, even if they design it to your 35-40 dB noise floor.


My noise floor in my living room is, I guess, something around 35-40 dB (my meter goes down to 50 only - it is below that). when listening, at night, wife and baby asleep, I want something that goes from said level upto around 80 dB MAXIMUM!! - say a 40 dB range.

And when they are away at grandma, you cannot enjoy the benefits of a more realistic performance I don't have that problem so why should I be limited?

Greater than that and I will never be able to listen to music again. Come to that - 96 db range over a week and I may never be able to listen to anything ever again - except through a hearing aid.

Not so. The the 96 dB would cover the peaks that happen infrequently only. Your average listening level is whatever is comfortable to you. Short peaks would not harm your hearing.