[MrJingles]

Hello. I bought a wonderful classical cd per the advice of a fellow Head-Fier and have it in my iMod. Do any of you find the volume difference from soft to loud passages overwhelming and, if so, what can you do about it?
I want to relax while listening to it, but unless you know it's coming, the loud parts make me jump and is a bit nerve-wracking.
Any thoughts?

 

[DavidMahler]

You have two choices I feel. One is just live it with it the way it is because that's the way its supposed to be. The kind of classical that makes you jump was written that way for a reason, not to relax to. Vivaldi is more of the relaxing territory. But explosions which happen in Beethoven or Mahler or Wagner or Chopin etc.....that's how its supposed to be.

OR......you can get a program such as nero and compress all your classical music so that there is no peaks and dips. I STRONGLY DON'T RECOMMEND this method as it will completely negate the whole purpose of this music. But you do have this option.

There is also a device on the ipod called sound checker and its a limiter and will make all your files normalized in volume, however the loud sections will still probably make your heart jump.

Consider not listening to this music for relaxation if it makes your heart jump, as it wasn't the composer's intentions to relax you

 

[skellington]

Yup, I agree with Dave.
It's all part of the music. It makes listening in a noisy environment (ie the bus/subway) impossible unfortunately.

 

[MrJingles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif You have two choices I feel. One is just live it with it the way it is because that's the way its supposed to be. The kind of classical that makes you jump was written that way for a reason, not to relax to. Vivaldi is more of the relaxing territory. But explosions which happen in Beethoven or Mahler or Wagner or Chopin etc.....that's how its supposed to be. OR......you can get a program such as nero and compress all your classical music so that there is no peaks and dips. I STRONGLY DON'T RECOMMEND this method as it will completely negate the whole purpose of this music. But you do have this option. There is also a device on the ipod called sound checker and its a limiter and will make all your files normalized in volume, however the loud sections will still probably make your heart jump. Consider not listening to this music for relaxation if it makes your heart jump, as it wasn't the composer's intentions to relax you

That all makes very good sense. I do not want to degradate the sound by compressing it any. I will live with it and know that this particular cd is not for relaxing, just enjoying. I think I will go out and pick up some Vivaldi.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skellington /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup, I agree with Dave. It's all part of the music. It makes listening in a noisy environment (ie the bus/subway) impossible unfortunately.

Unless you get IEMs or noise blockers......consider that.

Classical sounds fantastic with the ER4P and an iMod

 

[Rlynn]

He-He - Where *does* this idea that classical is soothing and relaxing come from? Best not listen to the Tchaikovsky 1812 overture with real canons.

As DM says, it is difficult to listen to in a noisy environment without isolating phones. You don't realize just how noisy the modern world is until you try to listen to a quiet piano passage. I expect you have the volume up to hear the quiet parts and then the fortissimos are really blasting your ears.

You might find some of the French composers to your liking: Faure, Debussy. Look for piano, quartet, or trio compositions.

 

[lionel marechal]

The question is as well - what were you listening to ?

I am going to take big shortcuts to help you choose your music.

Composer>> As mentioned, globally, Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn would contain less 'surprises' like this. Within the main composers, I guess It would start with beethoven.
Globally, the more you go back in time, the less you're going to get high dynamic range.

Recording>> The recording is part of it as well. If you take the Mahler 2nd symphony by Inbal, you are going to have a dynamic range significantly bigger than let's say Bruno Walter. This is because a) recording options b) time of the recording (Walter in that case is 58, Inbal in the 90s I believe)

Interpretation>> Even in Vivaldi, you can have very dynamic interpretation of the 4 seasons (Il Giardino Armonico for example is on the 'agressive' side). If you look at the thread about the Shostakovich symphonies (not recommended for your current tastes ), you will see that, as an exemple, the Haitink version is at one end, the Kondrashin version at the other (on the 'agressive' side).

Again, this is GLOBALLY, I know there is exceptions.

So .. mention this aspect to your friend when picking an other recommendation from him

Lionel