The Loudness War

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that research concludes that the louder an album is, the more it will initially appeal to the casual listener because louder music grabs people's attention and stands out among its quieter counterparts. The Loudness War, to capture the music purchaser, has been waged since the early 80s when the accessibility of music began to give listener's more choice than just listening to the radio or buying very expensive sound equipment. The author describes the process of creating sound for the recordings. The paper also relates the concerns of audiologists about the imminent generational hearing loss phenomenon related to iPods and their cohorts, earbuds. Color graphs are included with the paper.

From the Paper:

"Since the induction of the CD on the common market in 1982 and 1983, audiophiles have both scoffed at its distance from vinyl and come to appreciate that distance. With vinyl, there are physical limitations that dictate that there must be a compromise between volume, playing time, and surface noise. In order to increase the volume, deeper grooves must be cut, which leads to a danger of skipping and reduced space for more music. With a brand new, masterfully cut vinyl, you could get about 60 dBs (decibels), and once played a few times through, it would settle at about 50 dBs."

Sample of Sources Used:

• http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0012/00120360.htm
• http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17777619/the_death_of_high_fidelity
• Personal correspondence with Bess Rogers, May 13th, 2008
• Interview with Neil Bly, May 15th, 2008
• Personal correspondence with Mike from To The Death, May 13th, 2008

More papers on The Loudness War:

• Article Review # 122091 : "Review of "The Cold War: What do we Now Know?"
• Analytical Essay # 115126 : "We Didn't Start the Fire"

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