Itunes is RUINING MY MUSIC!!!

[xMannequiNx]

I'm on a road trip right now, listening to music on my laptop through iTunes (using VZ aircard in the middle of the desert to post here )

I can't help but notice on ALL of my music, there is a noticeable moderately-fast attack limiter or compressor. Every dynamic shift like bass drops and loud drums pumps it and makes the guitars quiet....

Anyone else notice this?

Or could it possibly be the ipod headphones?

 

[Line666]

Have you got the sound enhancer enabled under Edit > Preferences > Playback?

 

[xMannequiNx]

nope, none of those functions are checked....should they be?

 

[GarethSE]

no, they shouldn't
ipod headphones probably isnt helping.

 

[006]

I'm sorry but, iTunes isn't doing anything to your music if you have the sound "enhancement" features turned off...

 

[crazykarl]

it's your headphones or speakers. by any chance are you using harman kardon speakers in your laptop? they don't hold up well to bass frequencies

 

[Kazrog]

iPod headphones suck. They work, but they don't sound good. iPods also have TERRIBLE D/A conversion, and sound worse than most CD players even with lossless files.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Turn off soundcheck as well. I hate that thing.

 

[SentencedToBurn]

anybody else find it weird that the high def trend in the visual world is skyrocketing. high def tv's, blue ray movies, great quality. Then for music, people settle for a low bit rate mp3 with ear buds. wtf?

 

[Metaltastic]

Dude, ordinary people always favor visual fidelity over aural, I guess cuz sight is the most "literal" way we sense the world, and many ordinary people don't ever transcend that

 

[PhilR]

I've noticed that on the studio iMac there is always an audible compression effect. Even without using iTunes at all. Strange.

 

[Kazrog]

anybody else find it weird that the high def trend in the visual world is skyrocketing. high def tv's, blue ray movies, great quality. Then for music, people settle for a low bit rate mp3 with ear buds. wtf?

A lot of the high def TVs suck compared to analog TVs IMO. It's the same problem there as well. 99% of the HDTVs that my friends have are fucking terrible.

Quality costs a lot of money in both spaces. The push from analog to digital TV is not primarily about quality, it's about lowering the cost of production and maximizing profits. Also, most HDTVs aren't being built to last.

I haven't taken the HD plunge, aside from my Apple Cinema HD display on my studio machine (which destroys most TVs out there.)

 

[iekobrid]

Yeah, I'd rather watch video on an LCD computer monitor than an LCD television. At least then I won't be disappointed if it looks all blocky and artifacty coz I'll subconsciously be expecting it.

I'm hanging on to my DVI-equipped 27" analog tube tv for as loooong as possible.