There's a great article here on the subject of audio dynamic range compression. It's by a mastering engineer who knows his stuff. He talks about the fact that he's torn between the need to make an interesting dynamic recording, and the need to make the same recording seem loud enough compared to other CDs. In the process of explaining the art of compressing audio, he makes lots of really good points about the use of compression in the recording studio.

My favorite comment in the article:

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The PARTY Button

CD changers present a real problem in client education. I had to tailor the apparent loudness of this client's CD to work with 5 other hand-picked CDs, but I could pick dozens more that are much louder or softer than hers. We have to teach clients that CDs will always differ in volume and that a CD changer is not a radio station. The restaurant CD changer really needs a live DJ, but that's not practical. The solution: put a compressor in the restaurant, the car, and the jukebox, and reserve quality listening for the home, without compression. We should lobby manufacturers to put a compressor button on receivers and future DVD players; with DSP technology this is a snap. They could label it the Party Button! There should be three compression settings---for background listening at low levels, for moderate listening in a noisy environment, and for parties, where you want to switch discs without adjusting the volume control. Panasonic and Sony will sell a million of them, and we engineers will be eternally grateful! The button may be misused by ignorant consumers, but no more than the loudness button I find permanently pushed in 6 out of 10 homes.

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Hmm, can anyone say "Richard's Volume-Adjustment Kernel?" So whaddya say, Hugo?

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Tony Fabris