Digest Number 1029

[electrophotic]

The BBC use 'Optimod' dynamic compression on virtually all their 
radio broadcast output.  Dynamic compression is where the loudest 
parts of the music are kept at the same level, but the quietest parts 
are increased in level.  It has been applied in varying degrees to 
Radio 3 classical music programmes for the last few years, much to 
the consternation of many of their listeners who listen using decent 
hi-fi setups.  Radio 1 is aimed more at people listening on car 
radios/portables/low-end hi-fi and is heavily compressed.  Compressed 
music does sound better in some circumstances - for instance on a car 
radio, where you have such a lot of background noise from traffic 
etc., and quiet bits would be lost without compression.  (Most TV 
adverts are heavily compressed, which gives the impression that the 
ads are always louder than the programmes.  The peak levels are 
actually the same, but most ads don't have many quiet bits because 
those quiet bits have been made louder).

Data compression (or data reduction) is different to dynamic 
compression.  To fit 80 minutes of music onto a minidisc the music 
has to be reduced to smaller file size(s) and this is done by some 
clever electronics which decide which bits of information can be 
discarded without affecting the sound quality too much.  
Unfortunately, when overdone, data reduction can make music sound 
terrible.

I listened to John Peel's Radio 1 broadcasts for many years and it 
was very noticeable that his very laid back, calm and unhurried  
style became something very different;  I can only describe his late 
1990s/early 2000s broadcasts as sounding slightly 
abrasive/anxious/stumbling/stressed.  I'm not sure if this change in 
style was in any way deliberate, but being John Peel it was probably 
natural evolvement.  The 1990s were anxious times for Radio 1 
(falling listener numbers) and I'm sure a more aggressive style 
suited the top men at the beeb.  One thing that is very obvious on 
the last 3 or 4 years of John Peel's programmes was the amount of 
distortion in his voice, and I think this could only be due to 
engineers at the Radio 1 studio cranking up the levels well into the 
red, perhaps in an attempt to make Radio 1 the 'loudest and grooviest 
station on air'.  I found this distortion really annoying and I 
almost complained to the BBC about it, but I thought the people at 
Radio 1 wouldn't be interested in the opinion of an old fart like me.

Enjoy the music.


--- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Horne" <jon.horne@u...> wrote:
> This is true. However you need to consider the technology of the 
taper, too. My old 
> tapes were recorded on a cassette player. If the tape itself is in 
reasonable nick (few 
> of them are, after all these years), then you hear pretty much what 
I heard on the 
> radio when it was being taped. All my stuff from 2000 onwards was 
recorded on a 
> minidisc, which compresses everything to buggery.
> 
> Personally I prefer the latter. A case in point: I have the great 
Peel session version of 
> Culture's "Lion Rock" on record. I also minidisc'd it off the radio 
one night. The former 
> is a great song and a great record, but the latter sounds as if 
I've got Joseph Hill 
> standing next to me, blowing herb smoke in my face and prophesising 
the imminent 
> collapse of Babylon. I'll take the compression any day.
> 
> Cheers,
> Jon
> 
> (c/o The Peel Tapes)
> 
> --- In peel@yahoogroups.com, "rigmahus" <rigmahus@y...> wrote:
> > 
> > > PS But I listened to that Peel 1978 clip from the Tapes 
site...his 
> > voice
> > > sounded so 'quiet' those days...or not?
> > 
> > Is that not something to do with Radio 1 setting all their output 
> > compression gear to : FIZZ! these days?
> > 
> > Jumping between channels in the car - R2,R4,Classical, back to R1 
and 
> > the sound always jumps out at you and is louder. I dunno...