naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: playback level

Subject: Re: playback level
From: "rock_scallop" rock_scallop
Date: Tue Aug 13, 2013 5:28 pm ((PDT))
Its a good discussion point on any day. I might as well contribute some con=
jecture.

There is probably a fairly narrow range of levels that work well for a typi=
cal home listening environment.  The material has to be loud enough to be e=
njoyed over the background noise of the listening environment, and quiet en=
ough not to be disturbing.

Unless you care to publish only material that was naturally robust enough a=
t the original microphone location to be easily enjoyed at that same origin=
al level against the background noise of the listening environment, then yo=
u may want to boost it. Material recorded and then played back at 40 dBSPL =
may lose much of its subtleties against a background noise of 30 dBSPL.

Other material, water sounds for instance, may need to be mastered at a lev=
el significantly below natural so it sounds like it is in the ambient backg=
round, because who enjoys listening to a rushing stream with their head sub=
merged in it for very long at all.

Material with transitions that have a wide dynamic range start quietly, daw=
n choruses for instance, may deserve to be mastered to the enjoyment of the=
 most robust parts.

There is nothing wrong with putting a note explaining things.

John Hartog
oregonsoundscapes.com


--- In  "Grant Finlay" <> wrote:
>
>
> Just wondering,
> How do you guys/gals listen back to "nature" recordings level wise?  =

> I'm just toying with the idea of a line up tone for my tracks that are fo=
r sale, mainly because many people listen too loud and destroy the "feeling=
" of the recording. After all, many locations I record are around 40-50dBSP=
L and should not be played back at "pop music" levels.
>
> Sure, I do tend to master the quieter records at a lower volume but knowi=
ng many use earbuds and/or listen back on laptops in less then ideal ambien=
t conditions, this isn't always ideal. These days I'm putting a note on the=
 album, "turn the volume down for the best experience".
>
> Are we (in general) listening too loud to nature recordings?
> Just wanting to start a discussion.
>
> Apologies if it's been mentioned recently, I've been away for a while.
>
> Regards,
> Grant.
> http://naturesounds.co.nz
>








<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU