A: "Dynamic Range" is a philosophy that describes not only the sound quality, but also the song selection on
Dynamic Range Radio.
SONG SELECTION
I like to keep my listeners on their toes, so I’m always focused on providing variety, not only in terms of artists and genres, but also in terms of moods and tempos. Rock and roll in all its various forms is my first love, so that's the one genre that will be played most often, but listen to Dynamic Range Radio and you'll also hear Celtic, blues, alt-country, electronica, reggae, jazz, movie soundtracks, and so on and so on. My tastes tend to run towards the alternative, so you won't hear a lot of current top 40 hits on Dynamic Range Radio, but when I discover something in the top 40 that I like, say Gnarls Barkley, Goldfrapp or The Kings Of Leon, I'll definitely be playing them. And when I play well-known artists like U2 or Bob Dylan, I also include the deep cuts you never hear on commercial radio.
Too many high energy songs in a row can wear the listener out if that’s not what they’re in the mood for, and too many slow songs might put the listener to sleep. My goal is to always strike a balance. And I try not to play too many sad songs in a row, or too many super-happy songs. I'll play serious songs followed by fun songs, aggressive songs followed by gentle songs, and so on. In the long term, I plan to offer separate channels dedicated to high energy music or soothing sounds, but the main channel will always offer this unpredictable mix.
Sometimes I'll put songs together simply because they're radically different. That might mean Bob Marley followed by The Pogues. I also like to build sets that explore a certain theme, and sometimes I'll include songs that are polar opposites in terms of lyrical content. For example, if I play a song with religious overtones, I might follow it with something like "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be" by AC/DC. I want my listeners to be often left thinking, "I can't believe I just heard those two songs back to back. And I can't believe it
worked."
SOUND QUALITY
In terms of the audio signal, "Dynamic Range" is a term that describes the difference between the loudest and quietest portions of the sound. Most commercial radio stations and many internet radio stations offer a heavily compressed sound which squashes the dynamic range, giving a flat, uniform sound that's in-your-face loud all the time. IT'S A BIT LIKE READING POSTS ON THE INTERNET THAT ARE WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS! This is done to reach as wide an audience as possible, including people listening on crappy laptop speakers in loud offices with lots of background noise. But I can't stand listening to those stations, and I refuse to broadcast something I wouldn't listen to myself. That's why I choose to add
no extra compression to the audio signal. In fact, I use a dynamic range expander, the exact opposite of a compressor, to deliver a richer, livelier sound than you're used to with conventional radio. With a decent set of speakers, you'll hear lots of peaks and valleys on Dynamic Range Radio, but software is being used to make sure that the overall relative volume stays consistent. Other radio stations can keep the crappy laptop speaker demographic. I'm looking for the audiophiles who care about sound quality as much as they care about music.
So, if it's just the difference between the loudest part and the quietest part, why is it "dynamic" and not just "range". Because "dynamic" implies variety, and Dynamic Range Radio aims to keep that variety intact.
Think of the intros to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or Led Zeppelin's "Over The Hills And Far Away". Think of how classical music or jazz often has sudden peaks and long quiet bits. When you use compression, the peaks and valleys get squeezed together and what you're left with is flat, lifeless sound where you can barely hear the individual instruments, and you lose the sudden changes in volume that bring you to your feet or knock you on your ass.
Some music is recorded with a lot of bass, and some has hardly any. But what a lot of radio stations do is use multi-band compression to make sure the bass and treble are consistent from one track to the next. This is fine if you only use the radio for background noise that you barely even listen to. But I think music should command your attention. I think Sly And The Family Stone should sound bass-heavy and the White Stripes shouldn't. But if you use compression, you can play Norah Jones back to back with My Chemical Romance and it doesn't really matter because it all sounds the same anyway.
Follow this link for a terrific YouTube video that uses audio and visuals to explain
dynamic range and why it's important.
Dynamic Range Radio
No Compression. No Limits.
