[1] I don't know how about trying to get a good sound without turning so quickly to compression.
[2] Nevermind is a good example. Some level of compression is integral to its sound. Yet, in my opinion, it would have been better with less than it has. Not none, but less.
[3] EDM has to be highly compressed to work in its intended environment which is a noisy dance club.
[4] So were I picking levels of compression I would stop for the tremendous majority of music with levels adequate to enjoy it in a car environment.
[5] I'll grant you the opinion that well done even heavy compression adds to the quality of the mix. Please grant me the opinion that just going by what I hear way too much compression is being applied routinely.
1. I've been trying to explain that compression is one of the earliest and most fundamental audio processing tools invented. It's effects cannot be replicated any other way. It's similar to saying; how about trying to get a good sound without using any EQ.
2. Maybe a small amount less but without compression entirely or with very minimal compression the mixes on Nevermind would have to sound very substantially different and that would be a sacrilege because it's a great album (from a production point of view, regardless of whether one likes the genre).
3. I was just using EDM as an obvious example. Techno, hardcore, drum and bass, modern R&B and many others completely depend on fairly substantial use of compression. Even most forms of rock music does, a kick drum does not sound that way in real life. Again, compression is a fundamental production tool; popular genres, even some fairly old ones, have evolved with it's use in mind. Without it, those genres wouldn't exist or would be substantially different. What would metal sound like with just the real sound of a kick drum?
4. That would require a moderate to heavy use of compression then, not minimal or none at all! Are you changing your original assertion?
5. As I've also tried to already explain; not only do I grant you that opinion but I entirely agree with it! Too much compression is very common, the loudness war definitely exists. I'm not arguing against the idea that in many/most cases the use of compression should be reduced, quite the contrary, I've been arguing for a reduction for over 20 years! However, my argument is for a reduction from the massive over application of compression to an appropriate level of compression. In practise this would generally mean anywhere from minimal to heavy compression (rather than massive over compression), rather than the minimal or no compression you originally asserted. Minimal or none at all is even worse than massive over compression IMO because over compression merely damages mixes, whereas no compression at all impacts artistic decisions to the point of genres being very substantially different or not even existing.
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i think its a marketing trick ...
That's also a bit of a grey area, rather than entirely black and white. For example, there is a valid argument that a standard 16/44.1 version is likely to be converted to an MP3 or similar for portable use where a high dynamic range is undesirable. A higher sample rate version is more likely to be listened to on a better quality system in a quieter/better environment, where a higher dynamic range is more desirable. So, while there is some valid justification, there's also no doubt that this fact is sorely abused by marketing depts. It's turned around and used to imply/demonstrate that higher sample rates/bit depths are intrinsically better and the price hike justified.
Long term this is a problem for the consumer and an opportunity for distributors. What happens when the so called Hi-res formats become standard on portable devices? Technologies such as MQA are attempting to make "hi-res" formats practical for portable storage/streaming. At that point 24/96 or 24/192 could effectively become the new standard res and even higher rates required for "hi-res", with the potential justification that 24/96 or 24/192 need less dynamic range for portable use.
G
