Post
by Albert H » Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:41 am
Maybe we should start a new topic on this, but here goes:
It's interesting to look at an oscillogram of an original 1985 CD and compare it with the same CD re-released today.
A good case in point is "Brothers In Arms" by Dire Straits. The 1985 CD has a dynamic range of close to 50 dB. The quiet bits (and there are many) are very quiet and can't be heard over the engine noise in a car. The 2014 re-release is horrible. It has a dynamic range of just under 10 dB, and all the loud bits are deliberately clipped! This is gross distortion, and the record company expect punters to pay a premium price for this "remastered" piece of garbage! This is partly why many people are returning to vinyl for "better quality", but even the re-released LPs these days have deliberate clipping in an effort to make them sound "loud".
I've worked in recording and broadcast studios for over 40 years, and I can assure you all that quality has declined over the last 30 years, despite the massive improvements in recording technology. The best period for recorded audio quality was from (about) 1975 - 85, when recording, mastering and cutting engineers really knew their stuff, and the last of the big studios were built.
The rise of "Dance" music marked the start of the disintegration of recording standards. The record companies quickly realised that it was much cheaper to sell a recording made by some kid in his back bedroom on a computer, than it was to record, promote and sell a "traditional" act, recorded in a proper studio by people who knew what they were doing. These days, commercial recorded sound is still abysmal. but one or two companies have woken up to the fact that there is a market for real quality.
It's going to be interesting in the next few years. "Dance" music in all its myriad sub-genres will probably continue, but will be less mainstream than it is now. There will be a massive resurgence of good quality Rock and Pop into the mainstream, and the Interweb will help to spread the word that there are good alternatives to the mindless pap turned out by the record industry at the moment!
"Why is my rig humming?"
"Because it doesn't know the words!" 