Overcompression of the Dynamic Range

I just stumbled upon an interesting article regarding the "loudness war" (aka overcompression of the dynamic range) . Basically the record companies are pushing the absolute limits of volume while disregarding the overall dynamic range of music. Thus, in most of today's music there is very little difference between the loudest and quietest parts of a song. Audiophiles are outraged! ;)

Check out a typical waveform from a song in the late 80's versus a current one. You don't need to be a musicologist to see the difference. Read more...