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I haven’t heard a really great sounding record in years.  Loud records, yes.  Pleasant records, no.

It seems that the entire recording community has decided to compress and limit the hell out of everything.  Dynamic range has been reduced to the point that everything is louder than everything else.  It’s like trying to hear someone tell a great story while ten other people are yelling their version of the tale at the same time.

To better visualize the problem, imagine this: jumping up and down on a bed when you were a kid.  As a small child, you could bounce as high as the mattress could project you.  Sometimes, you might even be able to touch the ceiling.  On those really big bounces you could feel the energy and power.  A really great bounce was exhilarating.

That distance from the bed to the ceiling is literally analogous to what is known in the recording industry as “headroom.”  Now imagine what would happen to those great jumps if the bed was a little higher.  You wouldn’t be able to jump quite as high before hitting the ceiling and the exhilaration would be proportionately lessened.

Now imagine what would happen if the bed was even higher yet; so high that you could literally reach up and touch the ceiling without even having to jump. How exciting would that be?

That’s what’s been happening to modern recordings.  The average volume level of a modern recording has become so high that there’s no room left for those soaring leaps that were so exciting. 

Likewise, all of the subtle and interesting detail that used to lurk in the background of recordings is no longer there (go pull up an old Beatles record if you’re unsure what I’m talking about).  Indeed, there is no background at all; everything is pushed to the front, loud and proud.

The result is some of the most boring, uninteresting music ever.  What’s worse is that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Mark my words, we’ll look back at records produced in the last 20 years and wonder “What were we thinking?”