Volume compressor needed

Volume compressor needed

Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a volume range. When
the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
a decent compressor?

---MIKE---
>>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
>> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Re: Volume compressor needed

On 18 Jan, 03:53, twinmount...@webtv . net (---MIKE---) wrote:
> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a volume range. When
> the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
> I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
> a decent compressor?

Dolby.

Or alternatively buy an amp with a 'nighttime' feature which reduces
dynamic range (Yamaha?)

Doc

Re: Volume compressor needed

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:53:14 -0800, MIKE--- wrote
(in article <fmp7ra01hp2@news5.newsguy . com >):

> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a volume range. When
> the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
> I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
> a decent compressor?
>
> ---MIKE---
>>> In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
> >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')
>

If you live in the sticks, just turn up the volume so that the softer parts
of the performance sound about as loud as they would in a concert hall at
your favorite seat. The rest will take care of itself. The problem with
compressors is that it's difficult to make one that doesn't "breath" or
"pump" and that's quite unpleasant.

Re: Volume compressor needed

Sonnova wrote:
> The problem with
> compressors is that it's difficult to make one that doesn't "breath" or
> "pump" and that's quite unpleasant.
>

Not at all these days. There is no problem to avoid all those
problems, using a computer, if you allow some delay before the
sound appears after you put in the CD or tell it to play the MP3.

You just design the compressor to look ahead and reduce the level
before a loud burst. Basically what you do is old fashioned
gain riding, automated.

Doug McDonald

Re: Volume compressor needed

"---MIKE---" <twinmountain@webtv . net > wrote in message
news:fmp7ra01hp2@news5.newsguy . com ...
> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a volume range. When
> the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
> I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
> a decent compressor?
>
> ---MIKE---
>>>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
> >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

You have it backwards. You need compression when the background noise is
high--not low. Low background noise should make it EASIER to hear the soft
parts.

Re: Volume compressor needed

"---MIKE---" <twinmountain@webtv . net > wrote in message
news:fmp7ra01hp2@news5.newsguy . com
> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a
> volume range. When the loud parts are at a reasonable
> level, the soft parts are inaudible. I live in the sticks
> so there is almost no background noise.

If there is almost no background noise, then its not the background noise
that is making the soft parts inaudible. Making the louder parts louder
would be a circumvention for your situation, except that you seem to be
saying that the loud parts would be unreasonably loud if they were any
louder.

> Who makes a decent compressor?

A good mid-priced compressor would be the Really Nice Compressor:

* w w w .mercenary . com /fmraudio.html

A good low-priced compressor would be the Behringer Composer

* w w w .djsupply . com /proddetail.asp?prod=12%5FBehringerMDX2600

Please notice that just about any compressor that you buy today will be
designed for use in an audio production environment, where working signal
levels are far greater than what you might find in a tape monitor loop, but
more like those present at the output of a CD player or the input to a power
amplifier. Failure to keep this in mind can lead to improper operation
and/or excessive noise.

Re: Volume compressor needed

On Jan 17, 10:53 pm, twinmount...@webtv . net (---MIKE---) wrote:
> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great avolumerange. When
> the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
> I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
> a decentcompressor?
>
> ---MIKE--->>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
>
> >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

You don't want a compressor. You want an automatic volume control.
Most devices are not really high end. Here is one example using
Google.
* w w w .heartlandamerica . com /browse/item.asp?PIN=44109&DL=GAW1&SC=WIG20001&

greg

Re: Volume compressor needed

---MIKE--- wrote:
> Most of my SACDs and many of my CDs have too great a volume range. When
> the loud parts are at a reasonable level, the soft parts are inaudible.
> I live in the sticks so there is almost no background noise. Who makes
> a decent compressor?
>
> ---MIKE---
>>> In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
> >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')
>

Mike,

I live in an area with almost nil background noise.

I have a fair number of very high quality recordings, including Dorian, Chesky,
RR, and others not well known. I use speakers that have exceptionally high
dynamic range and low distortion. I run only CD right now.

I have yet to find a CD that has soft parts that exceed my ability to hear them
clearly, and I tend to listen to loud passages at levels not exceeding 100dB SPL
at my listening position.

So I am puzzled by your problem.

Could you supply me privately, or us on rahe a short list of examples of these
CDs that have this tremendous dynamic range?

I'd like to compare notes, see if I have any of them, and if not *get some*!

Thanks,

- -bear (north eastern foothills of the Catskills - ~800ft elev)

PS. it might also be useful to know what your system set up consists of?