8/23/2023 0 Comments Snapdragon audio equalizer![]() We know they are there, but the bulk of the "loudness" that we hear comes from ever so slightly longer timescales.ĭynamic compressors can take advantage of this by making the difference between the peaks and the average volume smaller. While a drum might have a momentary spike in volume, our ears can't process such quick spikes very well. Loudness in a engineering context refers more to the average volume of a sound. The system will not let you go past its limit with these peaks, and you'll start distorting. This peak volume might only be reached by instruments with percussive elements, and those peaks may even be on a sub millisecond timescale. This sound level is what the digital system is sensitive to. Engineers speak of "peak volume" - the literal, absolute highest level that the sound reaches. Volume and loudness are two slightly different things in this context. There are numerous uses for dynamic compressors but in this context we shall assume that we are just looking to make our mix louder. Trying to push a sound past this ceiling results in an unpleasant type of distortion called "clipping". In a digital system you have a limit on how loud a sound can be in your mix (independent of the volume knob on the end users hi fi) before it hits a "ceiling" where no more volume data can be allocated. The dynamics of a track describe the volume difference between the loudest and softest parts - this could be on a large scale like having a verse section that is less energetic than a chorus section that adds extra instruments, or on a very small scale like the momentary spike in volume at the very beginning of a drum hit. That said, if people wanna mess with their EQ it's up to nobody to tell them they can't - though I would like them to understand why they might be feeling the need to do so :) At this point it is definitely forgivable for the consumer to tweak settings to make the music more palatable. There is plenty of chart music with shockingly bad production, mixing and mastering jobs. It's an arms race to have the loudest, fattest sounding mix, but it throttles the life out of the music. This choking of dynamics is often referred to as "The Loudness War". Unfortunately not every engineer is up to the job, and/or the record labels demand aggressive dynamic compression to make the track appear louder at the expense of actually sounding good. It is a shining example of what a good engineer can do with that style of music. ![]() One example I often use is Rage Against The Machine's self titled album. ![]() A mix or mastering engineer that isn't being asked to do stupid things by the label will do exactly that - their ears and equipment will let them create a mix that is exactly how they want.
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