CDs data cannot exceed the range 0000 to FFFF.
Many newer CDs are heavily compressed and have many samples at the limit values.
Some DAC digital filters cannot cope with signals too close to full volume as they produce interpolated samples beyond the limits.
Some badly designed filters even go unstable when thet get internal overflows in the maths.
You could rip the cd to a PC and using software like goldwave or audacity reduce the volume by 3dB say and burn a CDR with the quieter version to try.
Many newer CDs are heavily compressed and have many samples at the limit values.
Some DAC digital filters cannot cope with signals too close to full volume as they produce interpolated samples beyond the limits.
Some badly designed filters even go unstable when thet get internal overflows in the maths.
You could rip the cd to a PC and using software like goldwave or audacity reduce the volume by 3dB say and burn a CDR with the quieter version to try.
I am glad musicians do not create such sounds.
Samuel Jayaraj said:
I have never seen a DAC chip that cannot handle all posssible 16 bit data codes. If there is sucha thing it is seriously flawed.
There are some "audiophile" commercial CD players with outputs much higher than the red book standard 2V rms. Magazine reviewers always seem to fall for "louder is better"
A preamplifier with +5V powered cmos analogue switches is going to clip at these high levels. Some are high enough to overload switches running on +/- 5V
Britney can't sing
This was posted elsewhere..
http://www.mindspring.com/~mrichter/dynamics/dynamics.htm
davidsrsb said:
This was posted elsewhere..
http://www.mindspring.com/~mrichter/dynamics/dynamics.htm
When we were setting up our first all-digital domain production suite a CD certain to have a high average level - something by Slipknot - caused panic when the board meters gave all indications of input overload. They locked at one value and didn't budge. The sound was awful, from an analogue mindset it gave every indication of clipping. Checked the analogue output of the digital console: yep, clipped waveform. The CD player fed the board AES-EBU, so furiously re-read the console manual. Nothing wrong. Checked the analogue output of the CD player: clipped waveforms. Second player, same thing. Eventually we came to realize the CD was mastered clipped. This wasn't a clipper/processor, this was straight-out back-to-back zener consistently shear the tops off dead flat. Welcome to the new artistic sensibilites.
Let me shed a bit more light on this, the cd that i'm talking about is the new Jackson Brown (The Naked Ride Home) it is by far the loudest cd in the 1000 odd that I have.
Now it seems that it only sounds distorted on my separate transport (Tent XO clocked) and separate D/A converter A3.24 Musical Fidelity. For some reason the same cd does not sound this distorted on stand alone players, this led me to belive that the sending/recieving components of separate transport/ da converters may have a limit to what they can handle compared to stand alone players.
Cheers George
Now it seems that it only sounds distorted on my separate transport (Tent XO clocked) and separate D/A converter A3.24 Musical Fidelity. For some reason the same cd does not sound this distorted on stand alone players, this led me to belive that the sending/recieving components of separate transport/ da converters may have a limit to what they can handle compared to stand alone players.
Cheers George
It's not one of those Sony copy protected cd's they sound ugly as well, this this a Warner/Elektra disc but it does have a strange imprint in the centre that I've never seen (D.A.T.A. IFPL 311) whatever that means.
How can 1 cd stand out as twice the output level as anything else I have. I'd understand if it were Deep Purple, or something like that, but Jackson Browne, give me a break.
Cheers George
How can 1 cd stand out as twice the output level as anything else I have. I'd understand if it were Deep Purple, or something like that, but Jackson Browne, give me a break.
Cheers George
You would be surprised of what modern industry is capable off. I wouldn’t blame the artists. Try importing some tracks from different cd's in a waveform viewer like Cooledit or Audition. Far too many are compressed and hard limited and make all the dynamics disappear. Look at post #7 here which is not at all an exception these days. It's a big shame.
/Hugo
/Hugo
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