Steve_Graham@ub.cc.umich.edu (08/24/90)
Believe it or not, wars are fought over this subject inside radio stations. I agree with most of what has been said already. Personally I find most compression and/or limiting on music to be thoroughly obnoxious. However listeners often complain that we are not loud enough, basically because we do not compress our signal as much as most other radio stations, and are *much* less compressed than pop/rock stations, and so have a lower average level. Also people who listen in cars complain that the music disappears when there are quiet passages. These are real listener complaints, so it is not just "stupid program directors" who worry about it. One more thing to remember: Most radio listening (in this country at least) is "background" listening, and people don't want too much dynamics in their background music (never mind what Beethoven might have thought about being so used!) --Steve Graham, WUOM, Ann Arbor