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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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In Reply to: Re: hearing the big picture? posted by Tom Dawson on June 18, 2006 at 21:41:56:
The maximum requirement is the difference between the loudest and softest sounds of a live performance which is 27db for a dead quiet empty ASA compliant concert hall above which some sound may be barely perceptable and 100 db the loudest musical sound produced by a symphony orchestra in such a hall. that leaves a 73db range. Other types of music may be much louder such as a live rock concert but the limit on the low end is also much higher. Ever been to a "quiet" rock concert where the audience was nearly silent? Reproducing sound levels above the threshold of pain, 120 db seems neither a necessary nor a desirable capability. OSHA says long term exposure to 85 db and above risks hearing damage. Even classical musicians who play in symphony orchestras and especially conductors are at risk. Of all the popular media used for recording music, only CDs have the requisite range for all such music. And only in classical music is it common practice to create recordings which "document" performances rather than edit them to make them commercially more desirable overcoming the inherent limitations of the performers themselves. That is not to say that classical recordings aren't also sometimes "doctored" by knob twiddling engineers during mixdown but it is usually done in the service of creating an end product which to them sounds more like a documentary recording, that is to overcome the limitations of the recording process itself. Of all practices in this regard, the one I personally find most objectionable is increasing the loudness of a soloist so that his singing or playing is out of proportional balance with the rest of the music. There is nothing disconcerting in quite the same way as a piccolo or flute or violin playing as loud as an entire 100 piece symphony orchestra. One signer as loud as the entire rest of the 300 member Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
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Follow Ups
- Re: hearing the big picture? - Soundmind 05:28:36 06/19/06 (0)
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