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Compressed recordings? HiFi enemy 1?

Some people say the source is the most important. But this is really the record or CD disc not the player.
Also, I have heard it said that lack of dynamic range is a major problem why Hi-Fi will never sound real. But then almost every recording is compressed which reduces dynamics.
I don't know why this is done but instead of all these exotic DAC's and upsamplers why not a player that will uncompress the music back to how it was originally recorded?

Wouldn't this improve the sound more?
cdc

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,304 posts
 
A little compression is a good thing. It fills out the sound and gives it some weight. Too much compression sounds really bad. Flat, undynamic and generally uninteresting. Unfortunately, once compression has been applied to music its effect cannot be undone.

BTW, it wouldn't sound like rock n' roll without a good deal of applied compression.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,304 posts
 
FYI, an interesting discussion by pro engineers about the how and whys of compressor use.

http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=004255
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