25-May-2019, 21:29
Yes, there is a relationship between recording level and dynamic range and the loudness wars are relevant.
Most of what I listen to is jazz, more acoustic jazz than electric jazz, and a lot of it comes from European labels like ECM and ACT. Roon shows a dynamic range of 8-10 dB for most of the recordings I listen to, quite often a range between 10 and 15 dB, and sometimes even greater than 15 dB. I suspect people who listen to classical also see Roon show similar dynamic range results for their recordings. I'm not saying I never play stuff that's been impacted by the loudness wars but by and large I definitely don't see the worst of what the loudness wars have inflicted on recordings in the recordings I play.
The method I outlined above works for me but, as I said, it does become less reliable when the dynamic range of a recording drops below the 8-10 dB range. If you play music with a reasonably decent dynamic range this method may be of use to you. If you play music with a limited dynamic range then it probably won't be much use. Its usefulness may also vary from recording label to recording label as I said. All people can do is to try it for themselves if they wish and see if they find it useful. Some may, some won't. YMMV.
Most of what I listen to is jazz, more acoustic jazz than electric jazz, and a lot of it comes from European labels like ECM and ACT. Roon shows a dynamic range of 8-10 dB for most of the recordings I listen to, quite often a range between 10 and 15 dB, and sometimes even greater than 15 dB. I suspect people who listen to classical also see Roon show similar dynamic range results for their recordings. I'm not saying I never play stuff that's been impacted by the loudness wars but by and large I definitely don't see the worst of what the loudness wars have inflicted on recordings in the recordings I play.
The method I outlined above works for me but, as I said, it does become less reliable when the dynamic range of a recording drops below the 8-10 dB range. If you play music with a reasonably decent dynamic range this method may be of use to you. If you play music with a limited dynamic range then it probably won't be much use. Its usefulness may also vary from recording label to recording label as I said. All people can do is to try it for themselves if they wish and see if they find it useful. Some may, some won't. YMMV.
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Brisbane, Qld, Australia
