Metrics for Quantifying Loudness and Dynamics 1

There is growing concern that the quality of commercially distributed music is deteriorating as a result of mixing and mastering practices used in the so-called "loudness war." Due to the belief that "louder is better," dynamics compression is used to squeeze more and more loudness into the recordings. This paper reviews the history of the loudness war and explores some of its possible consequences, including aesthetic concerns and listening fatigue. Next, the loudness war is analyzed in terms of game theory. Evidence is presented to question the assumption that loudness is significantly correlated to listener preference and sales rankings. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for de-escalating the loudness war.

2016

This article describes one of the most fundamental changes in the history of audio in broadcasting: the change of the levelling paradigm from peak normalisation to loudness normalisation. This change is vital because of a problem that has become a major source of irritation for television and radio audiences around the world – that of the jump in audio levels at the breaks within programmes, between programmes and between channels. Loudness normalisation is the solution to counteract this problem. EBU Recommendation R 128 [1] establishes a predictable and well-defined method to measure the loudness1 level for news, sports, advertisements, drama, music, promotions, films etc., through-out the broadcast chain, and thereby helps professionals to create robust specifications for ingest, production, playout and distribution to a multitude of platforms. Four supporting documents have been created by the EBU to aid the audio industry to work with Rec. R 128. It is based entirely on open st...

Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 2010

The loudness of as ound depends, among other parameters, on its temporal shape. Different loudness models were proposed to account for temporal aspects in loudness perception. To investigate different dynamic concepts for modeling loudness, predictions were made with the twocurrent loudness models of Glasbergand Moore [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 50,331-341 (2002)] and Chalupper and Fastl [Acta Acustica united with Acustica 88,378-386 (2002)] for aset of time-varying sounds. The predicted effects of duration, repetition rate, amplitude-modulation, temporal asymmetry,frequencymodulation and the systematic variation of spectro-temporal structure on loudness were compared to data from the literature. Both models predicted the general trends of the data for single, repeated and asymmetric sound bursts and amplitude-modulated sounds. The model of Chalupper and Fastl seems to agree slightly better with loudness data for sounds with strong spectral variations overtime, since it includes a dynamic stage which allows spectral loudness summation also for non-synchronous frequencycomponents.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2021

Continuous magnitude estimation and continuous cross-modality matching with line length can efficiently track the momentary loudness of time-varying sounds in behavioural experiments. These methods are known to be prone to systematic biases but may be checked for consistency using their counterpart, magnitude production. Thus, in Experiment 1, we performed such an evaluation for time-varying sounds. Twenty participants produced continuous cross-modality matches to assess the momentary loudness of fourteen songs by continuously adjusting the length of a line. In Experiment 2, the resulting temporal line length profile for each excerpt was played back like a video together with the given song and participants were asked to continuously adjust the volume to match the momentary line length. The recorded temporal line length profile, however, was manipulated for segments with durations between 7 to 12 s by eight factors between 0.5 and 2, corresponding to expected differences in adjusted...

Trends in hearing, 2014

This article reviews the evolution of a series of models of loudness developed in Cambridge, UK. The first model, applicable to stationary sounds, was based on modifications of the model developed by Zwicker, including the introduction of a filter to allow for the effects of transfer of sound through the outer and middle ear prior to the calculation of an excitation pattern, and changes in the way that the excitation pattern was calculated. Later, modifications were introduced to the assumed middle-ear transfer function and to the way that specific loudness was calculated from excitation level. These modifications led to a finite calculated loudness at absolute threshold, which made it possible to predict accurately the absolute thresholds of broadband and narrowband sounds, based on the assumption that the absolute threshold corresponds to a fixed small loudness. The model was also modified to give predictions of partial loudness-the loudness of one sound in the presence of another...

A dissertation examining increasing loudness within music and broadcast by examining its manipulation through technology in the commercial market. The history of our relationship to loudness and the key reasons for its incremental rise and development are uncovered; a current analysis shows the problem, examples, academic debate and the commercial function and changing listening habits of consumers. The implications of hyper-compressed music for engineers and consumers are presented, covering technical and socioeconomic aspects before solutions are explored in reducing excessive loudness. A summary of the primary research is presented before ending with a conclusion.

PLoS ONE, 2012

Real-world sounds like speech or traffic noise typically exhibit spectro-temporal variability because the energy in different spectral regions evolves differently as a sound unfolds in time. However, it is currently not well understood how the energy in different spectral and temporal portions contributes to loudness. This study investigated how listeners weight different temporal and spectral components of a sound when judging its overall loudness. Spectral weights were measured for the combination of three loudness-matched narrowband noises with different center frequencies. To measure temporal weights, 1,020-ms stimuli were presented, which randomly changed in level every 100 ms. Temporal weights were measured for each narrowband noise separately, and for a broadband noise containing the combination of the three noise bands. Finally, spectro-temporal weights were measured with stimuli where the level of the three narrowband noises randomly and independently changed every 100 ms. The data consistently showed that (i) the first 300 ms of the sounds had a greater influence on overall loudness perception than later temporal portions (primacy effect), and (ii) the lowest noise band contributed significantly more to overall loudness than the higher bands. The temporal weights did not differ between the three frequency bands. Notably, the spectral weights and temporal weights estimated from the conditions with only spectral or only temporal variability were very similar to the corresponding weights estimated in the spectrotemporal condition. The results indicate that the temporal and the spectral weighting of the loudness of a time-varying sound are independent processes. The spectral weights remain constant across time, and the temporal weights do not change across frequency. The results are discussed in the context of current loudness models.

2001

Traditional audio level control devices, such as automatic gain controls (AGCs) and compressors, generally have little or no advance knowledge of the dynamic characteristics of the remainder of the current audio program. If such advance knowledge is available (i.e., if audio files can be pre-analyzed), it becomes possible to match desired values of overall loudness and dynamics. We introduce two new measures, “long-term loudness matching level” and “dynamic spread,” and present new methods for long-term loudness and dynamics matching. 0 INTRODUCTION Loudness is a subjective measure relating to the physical sound pressure level (SPL) as perceived by the human ear. A number of devices have been created for controlling audio levels to modify either a signal’s loudness or its dynamic change in loudness. Automatic Gain Controls (AGCs) are typically used to minimize loudness differences between audio programs (for example, between one song and the next). Compressors are similar to AGCs bu...

Proceedings of the SMC Conferences, 2014

Loudness normalisation has been heralded as a tonic for the loudness wars. In this paper we propose that a side effect of its implementation may be a greater awareness of sound quality. This side effect is explored through an analysis of the manner in which music is listened to under this new paradigm. It is concluded that the conditions necessary for sound quality judgments have been provided but that the existing preference for hypercompression may affect the de-escalation of its use in the pop music industry. The aesthetic concerns of hypercompression are examined in order to determine the sonic trade-offs or perceived benefits inherent in the application of hyper-compression. Factors considered include: (i) loss of excitement or emotion, (ii) audition bias in listening environments, (iii) hyper-compression as an aesthetic preference, (iv) the increased cognitive load of hyper-compression, and (v) the ability of loudness variation to define musical structures. The findings suggest that while loudness normalisation may help de-escalate the loudness wars, listener preference for hyper-compressed music may be more complex than simply a competitive advantage relating to loudness bias.

Loudness normalisation has been heralded as a tonic for the loudness wars. In this paper we propose that a side effect of its implementation may be a greater awareness of sound quality. This side effect is explored through an analysis of the manner in which music is listened to under this new paradigm. It is concluded that the conditions necessary for sound quality judgments have been provided but that the existing preference for hyper- compression may affect the de-escalation of its use in the pop music industry. The aesthetic concerns of hyper- compression are examined in order to determine the sonic trade-offs or perceived benefits inherent in the application of hyper-compression. Factors considered include: (i) loss of excitement or emotion, (ii) audition bias in listening environments, (iii) hyper-compression as an aesthetic preference, (iv) the increased cognitive load of hyper-compression, and (v) the ability of loudness variation to define musical structures. The findings suggest that while loudness normalisation may help de-escalate the loudness wars, listener preference for hyper-compressed music may be more complex than simply a competitive advantage relating to loudness bias.