loudness wars: digital recording to improve?

I'm with Elizabeth on this one. To expand on it - just wait till high-res becomes the standard (don't hold your breath though!). More bits and space to brick wall a recording! Imagine how 'loud' Metallica will try to be.

I just wish they'd declare Metallica's last 2 albums the undisputed winner of the loudness war so we can all move on.

How the Kids These Days are Ruining Music.

I think it is more the record companies that are ruining it. They are the ones who actually decide how an album is going to sound, not "the kids". You can probably blame some of the artists as well. On the flipside, there are some really great sounding pop/rock albums released since the turn of the century, which only goes to show that if you have people behind an album that actually care how it will sound on a decent stereo system, you will end up with a good sounding album. If the kids want louder volume there is always the volume knob on all of their mp3 players. Go nuts with it!

And here's a good question - the record companies hate it when people download music for free (i.e. steal). I do too, because I agree it is stealing. I have personally refrained from doing it, but then again why should I have to pay good money for a lousy product? And don't they realize that many of those who still buy CDs do so because they want a high quality recording? There is nothing worse than putting a CD into your player, hitting play, and listening to one big mess.

If the recording is botched and dynamic peaks compressed or clipped in the recording, no algorithm will fix it properly.

Algorithms can change what is there but not put back information that is lost in the first place, a least not with complete accuracy.

Sorry.

All these algorithms do is allow the average listener to listen to a mix of different recordings with different overall loudness levels on a server at more of a consistent volume without having to adjust volume as much. Not sure it will do much more than that for audiophiles.

All I can say is that I really like the new Black Keys CD and would like it even more if it sounded real, instead of recorded for MP3 users. There is so much potential in that CD. Its really a shame what the labels do.