Quote:
Originally Posted by PAPT
"Quote:
Originally Posted by MCV View Post
...So where can you draw the line between loud and too loud?..."
If everyone simply stopped trying to artificially raise the RMS level by cutting peaks there wouldn't be an issue.
The end result of a mix that peaks at 0db will usually have an RMS value around -14 to -12 db.
This may be why Bob Katz chose -14 db as a reasonable standard.
If everyone adopted this as a standard there would be more issue of destroyed audio quality from playing "loudness" games.
If you want to destroy your audio with excessive compression and limiting, go ahead. Just have the finished product come in at -14 db. It will sound the same as a smashed mastering job at -4 db, just at a lower volume level.
This way the listener can listen to all music, one track after another, in whatever style, and not have to keep changing their volume level.
Ans people who want good audio quality can make good audio quality recordings without the worry that people will have problems with it in shuffle playback with other tracks.
The "loudness people" won't really be giving up anything either, because they will still have their smashed and squashed sound.
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your principle is sound, and yes that's a good idea, but you'd have to make a law for that, cause otherwise some dude will decide to break the rule and then their stuff is louder and sounds best compared to the next track, so it won't work really.
that's why i think you just need to have a smart mp3 player. they ashould all be that way. the volume is set automatically, you just tell the player how loud you want the average to sound through your headphones, and it does it by controlling your volume control automatically. this means anyone can do anything to their music in the production phase and no matter what the average will always sound the same through your music player.
i think this feature would be somethign alot of people would want. the only problem is, i think people might not be prepared to pay the premium for it.
but they'd be more likely to i guess if they knew a loudness war existed, and that it was affecting how their music sounded without the artist or engineer necessarily wanting it to sound that way from an artistic perspective.