accuracy
04-06-2007, 09:06 AM
Rock music so loud, it makes you sick!
From correspondents in London
June 04, 2007
ROCK music is a getting louder and the sound of chart-topping albums is making listeners feel sick, experts warn.
According to Britain's The Times newspaper, record companies are using digital technology to enhance sound levels on some albums so the music cuts through background noise in pubs or cars.
But leading studio engineers in Britain have launched a campaign against a technique that removes the dynamic range of a recording, making everything sound loud.
"Peak limiting'' squeezes the sound range to one level, removing peaks and troughs that would normally separate a quieter verse from a louder chorus.
Many CD players respond to the frequency challenge by adding a buzzing, distorted sound to tracks.
"Record companies are competing in an arms race to make their album sound the loudest,'' Peter Mew, senior mastering engineer at Abbey Road studios, told The Times.
"The quieter parts are becoming louder and the loudest parts are just becoming a buzz.''
Mew also warned some modern albums provoke nausea.
"The brain is not geared to accept buzzing. The CDs induce a sense of fatigue in the listeners.
"It becomes psychologically tiring and almost impossible to listen to.''
Geoff Emerick, engineer on the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album, said: "A lot of what is released today is basically a scrunched-up mess. Whole layers of sound are missing.''
Experts say downloading music, when songs are compressed into digital files before being sold, has exacerbated the effect.
The reduction in quality is so marked that EMI has introduced higher-quality digital tracks, albeit at a premium price, in response to consumer demand.
Val Weedon, of the UK Noise Association, said: "Bass-heavy music is already one of the biggest concerns for suffering neighbours.
"It is one thing for music to be loud but to make it deliberately noisy seems pointless.''
From correspondents in London
June 04, 2007
ROCK music is a getting louder and the sound of chart-topping albums is making listeners feel sick, experts warn.
According to Britain's The Times newspaper, record companies are using digital technology to enhance sound levels on some albums so the music cuts through background noise in pubs or cars.
But leading studio engineers in Britain have launched a campaign against a technique that removes the dynamic range of a recording, making everything sound loud.
"Peak limiting'' squeezes the sound range to one level, removing peaks and troughs that would normally separate a quieter verse from a louder chorus.
Many CD players respond to the frequency challenge by adding a buzzing, distorted sound to tracks.
"Record companies are competing in an arms race to make their album sound the loudest,'' Peter Mew, senior mastering engineer at Abbey Road studios, told The Times.
"The quieter parts are becoming louder and the loudest parts are just becoming a buzz.''
Mew also warned some modern albums provoke nausea.
"The brain is not geared to accept buzzing. The CDs induce a sense of fatigue in the listeners.
"It becomes psychologically tiring and almost impossible to listen to.''
Geoff Emerick, engineer on the Beatles' Sgt Pepper album, said: "A lot of what is released today is basically a scrunched-up mess. Whole layers of sound are missing.''
Experts say downloading music, when songs are compressed into digital files before being sold, has exacerbated the effect.
The reduction in quality is so marked that EMI has introduced higher-quality digital tracks, albeit at a premium price, in response to consumer demand.
Val Weedon, of the UK Noise Association, said: "Bass-heavy music is already one of the biggest concerns for suffering neighbours.
"It is one thing for music to be loud but to make it deliberately noisy seems pointless.''