CD maximization redux..when did it start?

Hey guys,

We've discussed in the past "The Death of Dynamic Range" and the accompanying website (no longer available ).

My question to you all is what year did this terrible maximization trend really take over for rock/pop releases on CD?

With some random exercises on Cool Edit this afternoon, I formed the opinion that it was sometime 1995-1996. The earliest case of a "bad" waveform I came across was on Alice In Chains' 1992 release of Dirt, but it really wasn't all that bad by today's standards. You should see what they did to the corresponding tracks on the "Music Box" AIC release, maximization city!

I found a few '94-95 releases that looked pretty good. With 1996's Load release by Metallica, things start really going downhill. Ironic to me because their latest release, St. Anger seems to (impossibly) set a new record for maximization.

So what do you think, music lovers? Is there a date of CD release we can comfortably look at and say "there's no chance this will be maximized like crazy"?

 

I can tell you it happened in 1993...Earth Wind & Fire's "Millenium" had the dreaded brick-wall compression on it. I could tell from the sound of it. Granted it's not as bad as some of today's CDs, but it had that signature "full" sound to it. I actually got more aware of this compression when I got a DAT deck and fed the digital output of my CD player into it. Some discs really "slammed" against the 0dB mark, while the good-sounding ones only touched on it occasionally.

The Earth Wind & Fire wasn't the first I noticed, but it also wasn't the last. From that point on, just about all new releases had some kind of compression on them. Even the jazz label GRP Records was using it on their releases.

 

I first noticed it in 1990 with Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare CD. I hooked my CD player up to the digital in of a DAT machine and was shocked at the level. It was hitting 0dB all the time. Of course, now it looks low.

 

Personally, I blame CD changers in the home and jukeboxes in bars and clubs for the level war. And, really, when they started to make mastering gear that allowed the engineer to "crush" digital overs...that was, boys and girls, the beginning of the end.

 

If you do a search you may come up with a link to an excellent article that looked at waveforms of the Rush catalog and how it just got progressively worse as time went on, culminating with Vapor Trails.

I'd have to agree that 1995 is a pretty good guess as to when it really started to get out of hand...

But having a few "digital overs" isn't something to get too excited about. Even some of SH's DCC CDs have them, and I think those CDs sound pretty good (although I don't like clipped waveforms and avoid them in my own remastering).

 

No, a few digital overs isn't something to get TOO excited about, BUT...there is NO REASON to have them on a recording whatsoever.

 

Have you guys seen the levels on the newest Cheap Trick CD? It's just one big OVER. At least they could've lowered the level by .1dB to stop the constant overs from happeneing.

 

Great responses so far guys.

Looks like I'm going to have to scoot my timeline back. I'm starting to see some other 1992 releases (Angel Dust-Faith No More) get some maximizing. Of course Jamie points out a 1990 release.

Still, I think up until 1995 there were still some major release that weren't too bad. Kinda a hit-or-miss. After this timeframe, you can pretty much count on it.

 

I know what you mean, but wouldn't that just be tricking the digital meter, really?

No sonic difference.

 

Extreme's III Sides To Every Story (1992) was heavily limited also. Bob Ludwig mastered it and every snare hit goes to 0dB. We were all amazed with it. It surpassed Steve Vai's loudness, something we never thought we'd hear. Great record by the way. The second and third "sides" were so melodic and well done I didn't stop playing it for months. My girlfriend got so sick of it.

 

Sure, that's all it would be but if I was a mastering engineer and had to pound the levels I sure as hell wouldn't leave any overs to be seen. Besides, some CD players that can handle full scale audio cannot handle overs as well. D/A converters are all different.

 

The furthur back I dig, the more dissapointed I'm getting. Guns 'N Roses 1991 Use Your Illusion I shows limiting fairly bad. Now the good news: the MFSL version looks (and sounds) great! Overall level is much reduced, plenty of peaks well below 0.

I always used to wonder about MFSL's usefullness with post-1990 recordings, now I know!

 

Two Words - Rick Rubin
He started it all by pulling projects from mastering studios if they didn't have enough level to please him.... regardless of the distortion issues.

It really started to be technically possible about 1989 with the broad availability of Non-Sony out board A to d converters and even before that the Sony digital compressor/limiter allowed you to fool the Over meters.

 

That is interesting info. I always dislike Rubin's mastering techniques. Now I know a little history behind them

 

Right on the money Sam S. By 1996 the golden age on CD was over. I probably have about 30 CDs in my collection that were done after 1996. Only a few of them actually have dynamic range. The only post 96 mainstream release I can think of off the top of my head that has dynamics is James Taylor Hourglass, the rest aint hap-o-nin! In 1999 I purchased a turntable and got back into vinyl big time. Its a shame cause theres some good music out there getting ruined. Thankfully the Beatles came along 40 years ago. Unfortunately, I dont think too many outside this forum actually care. Hope Im wrong...otherwise the state of things "mainstream" will stay the same for a long long time .

 

I have examples of CDs like this that were made all the way back in 1989.

 

According to this page, the first capitol offender was the Stooges' Raw Power in 1997. It's a pretty interesting article, although I wish he listed some of his sources.

 

The first one that really smacked me in my ears was Oasis' "What's The Story, Morning Glory". Too bad too because I really liked some of their material, but I've never picked up that CD again.....damn thing is still vibrating!

dave
one of many

 

I recall Van Halen's Balance as being one of the loudest cd's I had ever heard at that point. I was used to having my amp at a certain comfortable volume, but had to leap to turn it down when Seventh Seal kicked in. Oasis' Be Here Now was painfully maxed out too, though I didn't know what it was at the time, I just thought it was crappy production!

 

Good lord, yes. Iggy even admits it in the booklet...the mastering engineers, he said, thought he was nuts. Well, now they're all inmates in the same asylum. I wish we could have a well-mastered version of his mix AND the original mix. But, then again, if one ever wanted to make an argument for certain recordings being philosophically appropriate for ear-bleeding maximization, this would be right up there. That said, the loudness factor is one of the reasons I prefer Fun House over Raw Power...

--MK

 

Two ignorant questions.

1. Why make a CD "louder" when the loudness of the listening experience is determined by the listener's volume control? I mean, you can't make it so loud that I can't turn it down ... ?

2. Is Wilco's "Summerteeth" maximised? It's the loudest CD in my collection -- every time I put it in, I get a jolt when the first chords ring out -- and have to adjust the volume. It's a Bob Ludwig job.

 

Ben,

The "Summerteeth" does show some limiting. It's not as bad as some other recent rock releases, but there's definitely some flattened waves on "Can't Stand It". Your fears are justified. Amazingly, YHF isn't as bad.

 

I believe the import CD of Blodwyn Pig's "AHEAD RINGS OUT" pre-dates everything I've seen listed here. So compressed it's distorted. I had to hunt down a promo LP and do a needle-drop to get something I could listen to. The remasters all sound the same. Go figure. Killer album, by the way.

 

There is a great artical in the Jan. 2004 issue of Wired magazine. On page 48 is an artical called PUMP UP THE VOLUME in which the whole phenomenon of music compression and maximazation is described. The short artical describes the problem very eloquently, but the accompanying charts are well worth checking out. It shows the evolution of CD sound from a 1980 release of BACK IN BLACK by AC/DC, through to the 2003 CD release of I DROVE ALL NIGHT by Celine Dion. The chart shows that BACK IN BLACK actually had some head room, but I DROVE ALL NIGHT uses every bit to create a constant din of music (sound). According to this series of waveforms, even the 1991 CD release of SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT had some respectable headroom. A good little piece about one of music's modern problems.

 

Rocky,

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my eyes open for this one at the newsstand. Good to see that someone besides us is noticing the problem.