Perceptual Effects of Dynamic Range Compression in Popular Music Recordings

Hjortkjær, Jens; Walther-Hansen, Mads

doi:10.17743/jaes.2014.0003

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…In Hjortkjaer & Walther-Hansen [30], no evidence of listener preference for "less compressed music" was found, in contrast to our finding that compression was preferred over limiting (and no compression). It may be that moderate DRC is preferred over no DRC because the sonic characteristics imparted by DRC were pleasing to listeners for our musical stimuli.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…By manipulating the point in the mix chain at which DRC was applied, this study supports the hypothesis that listeners prefer music with DRC applied to fewer signals simultaneously (i.e., to tracks prior to grouping/summation), which is expected to have reduced distortions associated with the application of DRC to pre-mixed signals [2], [3], [11], [13], [16], [29], [30], [42], [52]. Our findings also suggest that listeners prefer compression over limiting, and the use of moderate DRC over none.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…The excerpt would not have been known to participants a priori, eliminating the potential for any preferences towards a familiar rendition to influence responses (cf. [30]). The excerpt consisted of eight tracks (bass drum, drum overhead, bass guitar, electric guitar, electric piano, viola, vocal 1, vocal 2) without DRC, equalization, or any other post-production effects, to mitigate against the possibility of unwanted artefacts.…”

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hjortkjaer and Walther-Hansen [30] conducted listening tests that compared the original releases of several popular music recordings with subsequently remastered versions, on the premise that the peak-toaverage ratio was smaller on the remasters (implying greater use of DRC). Test stimuli comprised fifteen 15 s clips, each from a different track, along with their remastered counterparts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Listener Preferences for Alternative Dynamic-Range-Compressed Audio Configurations

Campbell¹,

Paterson²,

Linde³

2017

J. Audio Eng. Soc.

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Some audio experts have proposed that using Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) to increase the loudness of music compromises audio quality. Conversely, in listening tests, researchers sometimes find that audio subjected to DRC is preferred over uncompressed audio. We test the hypothesis that it is DRC configuration, rather than the use of DRC per se, that determines listener preferences. In this study, 130 listeners completed 13 A/B preference trials using pairs of RMS loudness-equalized stimuli subjected to different DRC configurations: viz., two magnitudes (heavy, moderate) and two compression types (limiting, compression) applied at three different points in the mix chain (track, subgroup, and master buss, here termed full-sum), along with an uncompressed control stimulus. Our results suggest that listeners prefer audio in which moderate compression has been applied to fewer signals simultaneously and dislike heavy limiting, particularly when applied to the full-sum, presumably because heavy DRC (and particularly limiting) applied to pre-mixed signals produces disagreeable distortion or because tracks whose amplitude characteristics would not have reached the DRC threshold alone may be deleteriously affected (e.g., attenuated) as a consequence of amplitude peaks in other tracks with which they are grouped.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Stimulimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Listener Preferences for Alternative Dynamic-Range-Compressed Audio Configurations

Campbell¹,

Paterson²,

Linde³

2017

J. Audio Eng. Soc.

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“…The literature relating to compression in music production has focused mainly on the effects of hyper-compression, often concentrating on whether its artefacts are detrimental to the perceived quality of audio material [7][8][9]. Taylor and Martens [10] claim that achieving loudness is a significant motivation for using compression, particularly in mastering, so one can argue that this is why hyper-compression is well researched.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Range Compression and the Semantic Descriptor Aggressive

Moore¹

2020

Applied Sciences

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In popular music productions, the lead vocal is often the main focus of the mix and engineers will work to impart creative colouration onto this source. This paper conducts listening experiments to test if there is a correlation between perceived distortion and the descriptor “aggressive”, which is often used to describe the sonic signature of Universal Audio 1176, a much-used dynamic range compressor in professional music production. The results from this study show compression settings that impart audible distortion are perceived as aggressive by the listener, and there is a strong correlation between the subjective listener scores for distorted and aggressive. Additionally, it was shown there is a strong correlation between compression settings rated with high aggressive scores and the audio feature roughness.

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Increased levels of bass in popular music recordings 1955–2016 and their relation to loudness

Hove

Vuust

Stupacher

2019

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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The sound of recorded music has changed over time. These changes can be captured by different audio features. Over the past decades, popular songs have shown clear increases in RMS energy and loudness, but far less attention has addressed whether this upward trend is more prevalent in specific frequency bands, such as the bass. Bass frequencies are especially important for movement induction, such as foot tapping or dancing, and might offer competitive advantages of capturing attention and increasing engagement. Here, the authors examined the evolution of audio features, such as root-mean-square (RMS) energy, loudness, and spectral fluctuations (changes in the audio signal's frequency content) in ten frequency bands from songs on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from 1955 to 2016. Over time, RMS energy and loudness increased while dynamic range decreased. The largest increases were found in the bass range: Spectral flux increased most strongly in the lowest frequency bands (0–100 Hz), and when controlling for overall RMS, only the lowest frequency bands showed an increase over time. The upward trend of bass could reflect changes in technology and style; but based on links between bass and movement, it is likely a widespread technique to increase engagement and contribute to chart success.

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Perceptual Effects of Dynamic Range Compression in Popular Music Recordings

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Listener Preferences for Alternative Dynamic-Range-Compressed Audio Configurations

Listener Preferences for Alternative Dynamic-Range-Compressed Audio Configurations

Dynamic Range Compression and the Semantic Descriptor Aggressive

Increased levels of bass in popular music recordings 1955–2016 and their relation to loudness

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