[OllyNewport]

Just wondering but...
 
I bought a pair of Shure SE535's in September. When I did this I started encoding into ALAC/M4A lossless, and before I go out and buy any CD I search for what is considered the best sounding version of said disk. (Typically a Japanese or original release, I've got a Japanese Polydor P20P release of Jimi Hendrix's Experience Hendrix and the original CD releases of Led Zeppelin... thanks to my dad there.)
 
I've started getting really annoyed by the way newer music is mastered, basically pushing the envelope of the 'loudness war' again and again. So whenever I get a new CD I'll open it up in Soundtrack Pro and check out the waveform, look for compression... then complain about it on Twitter. 
 
...I'm not quite there for the crazy £1000 power adapter power supply, I don't have that kind of money to burn to that degree. 
 
I think I realised I was becoming one when I had a 25 minute Skype rant to my friend about a contemporary classical composer compressing everything and letting peaks hit 0.2dB. 
 
I think I'm going to start buying releases (if available) in vinyl and converting it to a 24/96 recording for portable purposes, but I don't really have equipment for that (and don't really know what's a good turntable from a bad one.)

 

[Albedo]

Once you start getting equipment that's in the upper Mid-Fi category you'll become more aware that the source is important, these days such quality are attainable with a smartphone (with 320 kbps MP3) and some IEM/ earbuds costing $60. This is where I'm at currently with my portable and yes.. with some albums I'll get bored half way through and have to check -> http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/index.php?search_artist=&search_album=final+frontier
 
Depending on were you're gonna place some $$$ to get a better experience/ sound your in the green for now.. as the price vs. performance graph flattens out into the yonder plains of High-End.

 

[kingtz]

Sounds like you're a little past mild, OP. Sorry about your wallet.

 

[salannelson]

Yes you have. I've been one for a while.. I haven't felt the urge to spend more money just yet.

 

[OllyNewport]

I get so angry with an artist I love that removes all the dynamic range from their music. 
 
I wanted to compare what it would look like if artists before this war started were re-processed to suit the needs of 'the consumers'. 
 
School, by Supertramp (Original Master)
 

 
School, by Supertramp if it was being released today. 
 

 
Perhaps I'm being overly dramatic, (and I'm not) but if I go out and buy a CD and I look at the waveform and that's the result, I'd ask for my money back. 
 
Anyway, at least I would get a job as a studio engineer now. I'd be top of my game with results like that.

 

[salannelson]

 
Quote:

I get so angry with an artist I love that removes all the dynamic range from their music. 
 
I wanted to compare what it would look like if artists before this war started were re-processed to suit the needs of 'the consumers'. 
 
School, by Supertramp (Original Master)
 

 
School, by Supertramp if it was being released today. 
 

 
Perhaps I'm being overly dramatic, (and I'm not) but if I go out and buy a CD and I look at the waveform and that's the result, I'd ask for my money back. 
 
Anyway, at least I would get a job as a studio engineer now. I'd be top of my game with results like that.

It's truly depressing

 

[OllyNewport]

Quote:

Sounds like you're a little past mild, OP. Sorry about your wallet.

My wallet is okay. I'm quite lucky in having a dad with an extensive collection of first release CD's. The Shure's were about £270. So not too much of a dent yet. I just need to start on hi-fi gear before I start to feel it. xD

 

[ronnielee54]

Have you ever thought about just opening it up, putting it in the tray and pushing play.  In my 56 years I have never been one of those guys that gets off on graphs, charts, and waveforms.  Guess I will never be an audiophile.  I just listen to the tunes.
 
Quote:

I've started getting really annoyed by the way newer music is mastered, basically pushing the envelope of the 'loudness war' again and again. So whenever I get a new CD I'll open it up in Soundtrack Pro and check out the waveform, look for compression... then complain about it on Twitter. 

 

[Ham Sandwich]

The beginnings of mild audiophile neurosis?  Probably.
 
But audiophile obsessions tend to be more about the gear than the actual recording.  When you start obsessing about the gear then it's time to worry.  When you start making listening choices and music taste preferences based on recording quality rather than what you actually like then it's time to worry.  When you end up listening to bluegrass music just because it is recorded well and sounds good on your system you can consider yourself an audiophile.
 

 
Enjoy the CD collection that your dad has.  I'm sure there's good stuff in there.  Old CDs are often the best CDs.

 

[ronnielee54]

If you are talking Allison Krauss there ain't nothing wrong with that.  Some of the duets she did with Robert Plant sound amazing on a good rig.
 
Quote:

 When you end up listening to bluegrass music just because it is recorded well and sounds good on your system you can consider yourself an audiophile.
 

 

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Nothing wrong with Alison Krauss.  It's good music if you're an audiophile.  

 
Just beware of the Diana Krall.  

 

 

[OllyNewport]

 
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I'll still listen to music I like and love. I never said I can't listen to recent music (my iTunes collection is testament of that.)
 
I just want to try and prove a point to people that we CAN have better sounding tunes. Now the majority of music is mastered to near peaking level, and you can't go any further; will people start to realise just how loud our music has become?
 
My gripe is that compression isn't really needed. Radio stations have their own compressors to begin with, and we all have volume bars/buttons/knobs. While compression on certain things is needed, it seems to have gone overboard.
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Quote:

Have you ever thought about just opening it up, putting it in the tray and pushing play.  In my 56 years I have never been one of those guys that gets off on graphs, charts, and waveforms.  Guess I will never be an audiophile.  I just listen to the tunes.
 

 
Well... I used to do that and I wouldn't worry. But now... I don't know. I think primarily it's curiosity. Some of my favourite artists such as M83 is the devil of compression. I just wonder what something would sound like without it?
 
I have a really odd hearing problem, which is tinnitus to a degree, but isn't. So on really flat, heavily compressed tracks I really notice it (it almost screeches the sound back at me) for upper mid-range and high-end sounds. Compression is to blame for this, and I've never noticed it on something mastered correctly. 

 

[Ham Sandwich]

I was joking about the bluegrass, Alison Krauss and Diana Krall.  It is however music that will be found at meets and product demos.  Seems to be in the standard repertoire for audiophiles to have on hand.  So it pays to be familiar with it just so that if it gets played at a demo you will know how it is supposed to sound.