They Don’t Make Music Like They Used To
I think that an underrated factor in the dynamic range compression is the way we listen to music. I&#x27;m not sure if it&#x27;s accurate to say that the average quality of listening devices (that is, speakers&#x2F;headphones) has decreased, but certainly it has become more common to hear music through bad earbuds, tinny smartphone speakers, or laptops simply because those devices are so prevalent.<p>In these settings, music with lots of dynamic range may legitimately not sound as good. Due to the quality of reproduction, the low-loudness parts are hard to perceive.<p>For me, there are certainly songs that I enjoy listening to on good headphones in a quiet room that don&#x27;t have anywhere near the impact when played on laptop speakers.