[Mag]

Not sure how to ask this question. Dynamic Range what do we want or actually mean?

If you have ever listened to a drum recording by Kodo which has a wide dynamic range. It starts out quiet, so you adjust the volume so that you can hear it. If you leave the volume there, once they get going the dynamic range increases to the point it'll blast you out of your chair even blow you speakers.

So as audiophiles we want dynamic range not some squashed compressed recording. But is there a limit or a technique to how it's presented so that it doesn't wreck your hearing or speakers?

[mav52]

I like the old Stereophiles meaning :

dynamic range 1) Pertaining to a signal: the ratio between the loudest and the quietest passages. 2) Pertaining to a component: the ratio between its no-signal noise and the loudest peak it will pass without distortion.

[FullRangeMan]

Ray Kimber said his DSD recordings at Iso-Mike have no compression, these recordings are quite impressive. Otherwise engineers of non-audiophile recordings said recordings have to have compression to "sound good" 

[mav52]

A few links on DR

https://samplerateconverter.com/educational/dynamic-range

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/ca-academy/dynamic-range-no-quiet-no-loud-r643/

And a cool data base of songs and albums   https://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list

[Tyson]

I think part of why DSD sounds better than redbook is there's an inherent 6db greater amount of headroom with the way it's reordered/stored.  You can hear this if you have 2 copies of an album, one in redbook and one in DSD - you'll notice the DSD one is about 6db quieter and you have to turn it up.

[Tyson]

Not sure how to ask this question. Dynamic Range what do we want or actually mean?

If you have ever listened to a drum recording by Kodo which has a wide dynamic range. It starts out quiet, so you adjust the volume so that you can hear it. If you leave the volume there, once they get going the dynamic range increases to the point it'll blast you out of your chair even blow you speakers.

So as audiophiles we want dynamic range not some squashed compressed recording. But is there a limit or a technique to how it's presented so that it doesn't wreck your hearing or speakers?

Re: that particular recording (which I have), I'd say you are turning up the quiet parts too much if the loud parts are possibly causing speaker damage.  It might be because your system isn't passing low level information very clearly, or you need a quieter room, or you might have hearing damage or loss that causes you go have to turn up the quiet parts more.  The first thing I would look at is the room, and any sources of ambient noise (street noise, A/C hum, bleed through from walls, etc...). 

[Rusty Jefferson]

.... But is there a limit or a technique to how it's presented so that it doesn't wreck your hearing or speakers?

We basically want the full potential dynamic range of our hearing. The capabilities of our systems and how we prefer to listen are the deciding factors.

As Tyson just mentioned, if your system doesn't pull out the lowest level detail, or if your system has a high noise floor you'll miss the quiet parts. And just as important, it needs to have drivers and amplifier(s) that can reproduce those thunderous crescendos at the level of the recorded performance and with minimal distortion. Tough task.

You have to figure out where your system is and address the issues that are holding it back at the low level and/or the high level if you'd like to experience the full dynamic range.

[Letitroll98]

With the state of today's recording industry too much dynamic range is not a problem often encountered.

[Mag]

  A song with good dynamic range, Far Above the Clouds by Mike Oldfield from Tubular Bells 3. Which is available on Amazon HD if you're a subscriber.

I also have the CD version which distorts when the Bells come in. Amazon HD plays it clean, at least it does on my rig.
So what you should hear is normal volume playback from the beginning of the song until the Bells come in. Then the volume jumps substantially. Personally I love the sound of these Bells, it makes the song.

[Mag]

Re: that particular recording (which I have), I'd say you are turning up the quiet parts too much if the loud parts are possibly causing speaker damage.  It might be because your system isn't passing low level information very clearly, or you need a quieter room, or you might have hearing damage or loss that causes you go have to turn up the quiet parts more.  The first thing I would look at is the room, and any sources of ambient noise (street noise, A/C hum, bleed through from walls, etc...).

I have a habit of listening loud so I had the volume turned up, I crapped myself and quickly turned the volume down. IIRC there is a warning on the CD concerning the dynamic range, to be careful with the volume knob.

[Elizabeth]

DO you live with others? Do you live in a condo or apartment with shared walls?
If so, you do not want 'wide dynamic range'. You want some compression. and most recordings have some compression. Win Win. 

[FullRangeMan]

I think part of why DSD sounds better than redbook is there's an inherent 6db greater amount of headroom with the way it's reordered/stored.  You can hear this if you have 2 copies of an album, one in redbook and one in DSD - you'll notice the DSD one is about 6db quieter and you have to turn it up.

This is true but what I noted is that native DSD rec have a huge soundstage.

[Mag]

DO you live with others? Do you live in a condo or apartment with shared walls?
If so, you do not want 'wide dynamic range'. You want some compression. and most recordings have some compression. Win Win. 

   I live alone in a house with a dedicated audio room though it is not ideal in dimension it conveys the sound I want when I'm in the mood to blast it, Live like Concert sound.

 I noticed with Amazon HD when you use Loudness Normalization you squash the Dynamic Range in a recording. So if you want full Dynamic Range leave the Option Off.

Due to Covid I have lapsed on Home Insurance so I worry my stuff will get stolen and I won't have the funds to replace it. But I'm on the road to recovery since I got called back to work, so in a month or two I'll be back to managing all the Bills. Home Insurance is like $1600 which is way to high and I need to get the quoted price lowered some how. Have to do without Comprehensive insurance and just get the basics like Fire & Theft.

[Saturn94]

Re: that particular recording (which I have), I'd say you are turning up the quiet parts too much if the loud parts are possibly causing speaker damage.  It might be because your system isn't passing low level information very clearly, or you need a quieter room, or you might have hearing damage or loss that causes you go have to turn up the quiet parts more.  The first thing I would look at is the room, and any sources of ambient noise (street noise, A/C hum, bleed through from walls, etc...).

What recording is that?

[FullRangeMan]

Re: that particular recording (which I have), I'd say you are turning up the quiet parts too much if the loud parts are possibly causing speaker damage.  It might be because your system isn't passing low level information very clearly, or you need a quieter room, or you might have hearing damage or loss that causes you go have to turn up the quiet parts more.  The first thing I would look at is the room, and any sources of ambient noise (street noise, A/C hum, bleed through from walls, etc...).

Came to mind a planar headphone with large soundstage and a EL34 amp to dont need a properly sized and treated room.

[FullRangeMan]

Home Insurance is like $1600 which is way to high

WOW unbelievably high, even if the amount is per year.

[Mag]

What recording is that?

The Kodo album I'm referring to is Live at Acropolis, there maybe others. I didn't find Kodo to be musical at least for me.
On the cd it says Super Bit Mapping whatever that is.