Dynamic Range compressor

Hi, i don't own an Empeg player yet; my name is on the list for the MkII version, can't wait...

Besides my staple diet of music I have bouts where I want to play classical music, but with a CD player I find that soft passages become inaudible if the loud ones are OK, or if the soft ones are OK, the loud ones are too loud.

Too much dynamic range in a noisy environment is less of a blessing. How about a dynamic range compressor that would boost the softest passages while leaving the loud ones untouched (say by up to 24 dB, this would reduce total available dynamic range to some 60 dB, still far more than what you can appreciate in even the quietest of cars).

It would have to be user selectable, of course. Ideal would be if you could 'flag' the track in Emplode so the DSP would automatically engage/disengage compression.

Daft idea or what??



Cas

How about a dynamic range compressor that would boost the softest passages while leaving the loud ones untouched?

This subject has been hashed through several times on this BBS in great detail. Usually, it starts with a discussion about how rock/pop albums differ in perceived volume levels from album to album (because they are mastered with different amounts of compression), and how we need to be able to set relative volume levels on a per-song or per-album basis. But eventually we always end up talking about a realtime compressor.

Fortunately, one of our intrepid Empeg owners here on the BBS is already working on an algorithm that could do this. He's not implementing a compressor per se, he's implementing a piece of software which ramps the volume of a wave stream in real time.

Check out this thread for the gory details.

Tony Fabris (http://www.jps.net/tfabris)
Empeg #144

You could, if you were game, try ripping the files to wav then applying a compressor. This way you can controll exactly how it sounds.
The only catch is you MUST know what you are doing to make it sound good.


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Murray

The factory stereo in my Truck has Speed Sensitive Volume. It has a user selectable scaling factor. As you drive faster the volume goes up. I really like this feature because I do a lot of "drive fast then come to a stop and then drive fast again" kind of driving. And despite living in Houston Texas where it is mostly HOT and HUMID as $#@$@, I always drive with the windows down (and the AC on). The noise level goes way up when flying down the road at 60mph or more. The only real drawback is that my wife likes to drive with the all the windows up. Those ford fellows did a good job with keeping the road noise out. So when she drives fast the music blasts her out.

So my empeg wish is to use that Voice Recognition MIC to determine the relative background noise and adjust the played volume accordingly. I figure the VR software is already canceling out the audio produced by the empeg, leaving only the other sounds in the car (background noise and Voice commands). From there is is probably noise filtered (band limited to voice frequencies: 2K-5K i think). So the background noise level is probably relatively easily available.

Where am I supposed to mount this VR mic anyway?

Steve

> Where am I supposed to mount this VR mic anyway?

The same place you would mount a mic for your mobile phone hands free kit. Ideally, near the sun visor pointing directly at the driver's head.

Rob