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Should be required reading for any recording engineer...or any digital audio enthusiast for that matter.

http://omniaaudio.com/downloads/white-pa...n-june-2001.pdf

The number of reasons not to clip digitally is endless. Most people don't realize that the harmonics of the clipping alias back down into the passband, unlike analog clipping.

Digital clipping is wrong. End of sentence. Well, unless you want to sound like Ricky Martin Live "La Vida Loca".

Or worse.

Attached link points to the level histogram (i.e. count each time every number from -32768 to +32767 occurs, and then normalize it to make it a PDF. Normal audio centers strongly around the zero area, and decreases pretty smoothly to both sides.

Now check this one out.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff228/jj_0001/plots/ughl.jpg

Those two "rails" are ginormous clipping. This is not "Ricky Martin", it's a "Mars Volta" Clip. Scary.

This is NOT radio processed.

Yes, clipping, compression and data reduction are all nightmares audiophiles have been railing against for some time. The solution is almost at hand. With digital storage becoming cheeper and memory capacity increasing in a number of mediums, surely recordings could be released with
compressed tracks ( for the car & other noisy environments), high resolution tracks etc - all of the same music made available for download or on disk. The replay mode could then be in the hands of the listener who'd chose the compressed version (tracks) for noisy environments or the high resolution version for audiophile replay.
Does that make sense?

On my last radio station eng gig before Uncle Sam called I pulled to compressor/limiter out of the chain. I never had any listener say a word about our sound being better, or worse for that matter. Much of the music we played was compressed anyway, but at least I did not add to it.

It is not that hard to watch the Gates console and keep your levels down. but, if your owner makes you fight the loudness wars...it is what it is. Luckily my owner was an audiophile.

Just think of how depressed a great recording engineer must feel when he hears his work played on SAT. Radio. Geez.

I should also add that when you are using Shure 44s or Stanton 500 carts through the old Shure Phono stage, how much could you really gain sonically. Still, I was not making it worse. Almost ironic to be using 12" tonearms.

Quote:
Attached link points to the level histogram (i.e. count each time every number from -32768 to +32767 occurs, and then normalize it to make it a PDF. Normal audio centers strongly around the zero area, and decreases pretty smoothly to both sides.

Now check this one out.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff228/jj_0001/plots/ughl.jpg

Those two "rails" are ginormous clipping. This is not "Ricky Martin", it's a "Mars Volta" Clip. Scary.

Good grief!!!

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

That would be a Walmart 2*45 Watts amp at full throttle on a pair of Maggies?

Quit talking about my swell Wal-Mart set up. It is hard to tell if my 2496 files are good on that one though. Of course, it might be the Blastophonix ER-9 speakers holding me back. Or it just could be ME!

I will always be the weakest link. My wife says so!

Don't believe her!

Quote:

Quote:
Attached link points to the level histogram (i.e. count each time every number from -32768 to +32767 occurs, and then normalize it to make it a PDF. Normal audio centers strongly around the zero area, and decreases pretty smoothly to both sides.

Now check this one out.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff228/jj_0001/plots/ughl.jpg

Those two "rails" are ginormous clipping. This is not "Ricky Martin", it's a "Mars Volta" Clip. Scary.

Good grief!!!

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

You should HEAR it. (once, for a short period of time)