Could somebody explain to me whats wrong with Noise Reduction?

Hmmm...i'll try that one day!

 

I asked the same basic question back in 1999 to a tape trader's list (see http://orf5.com/tape_hiss_nr.html). While the technology has gotten a lot better, the basic issues remain - when overused, it removes audible information from the music. It is mathematically impossible to remove broadband noise from a recording without also removing broadband frequencies from the music of the recording. Lots of tricks can be used to mask the effect of noise reduction, but its effect is still in there. When used very carefully, it can lead to the desired effect of removing background hiss and leaving the music pretty much intact (this is especially useful when using it on single tracks of a multitrack, before it's mixed down). I don't know what people have against a little tape hiss anyway. If only all record companies knew where their original master tapes were and used them, we would hardly ever need it on a remastering job!

 

Problem is, you can't stop people from misusing/overusing NR.

 

Amen!

As I wrote above, complete absence of all noise is pretty much unnatural. However, there are many people for whom the slightest amount of noise equals a poor recording, etc.

I'm somewhere in the middle. For me the ideal recording is one where the only sounds I hear are those heard in the recording room. If it's hiss added by tape and it's loud enough to be identified as such, then it's a limitation I either live with or find annoying. The natural ambience of a room will sound somewhat like hiss but will be very subtle. Hiss in that band between about 2k and 5k when loud enough is distracting. Unfortunately, any attempts at removing it almost always result in damage to the music. As Brian Davies, the programmer who created the ClickRepair and Denoiser, put it, removing noise is like trying to remove cream from a cup of coffee! Still it can be reduced with careful EQ and perhaps some very light NR.

 

like every tool Noise Reduction must be used sparingly
BBC advice was apply an effect and then back off a bit so not to draw attention to process
Without NR old movie soundtracks would hiss pop and bang
Modern recordings would reveal multitrack tape noise and amp shash
Best practice is agin to picture restoration

 

I personally feel that NR should only be used in situations where the vinyl surface noise or tape hiss overpowers the musical content and distracts from the overall listening experience. Even then it should be used carefully. I think it's always good to leave some of the surface noise or hiss and avoid that dreaded "vacuum effect" or "Norberg Syndrome."

 

One of the worst, if not the worst, examples of Noise Reduction is the 25th Anniversary version of "Aqualung." Within the first three seconds, you know something went terribly wrong.

 

The "Norberg Syndrome"? What on earth is the "Norberg Syndrome"?

 

IMO nothing ever good can come from using NR. It only takes away and never gives. Losing information can never be of benefit.

 

Bob Norburg, formerly at Capitol Records here in the states, became infamous among audiophiles for his gross overuse of NR on a few CD titles a few years ago, much like Jon Astley as with the Who and ABBA remasters.

 

Didn't he destroy some of the Sinatra albums also?