Compression and Dynamic Range Flashcards
7 cards from real Music & Audio Advice practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Compression and Dynamic Range flashcards as text
When mastering for a classical recording, why preserve wide dynamic range?
Answer: The contrast between soft and loud passages is essential to the emotional impact
Classical music relies on dynamic contrast, so heavy compression would flatten its expressive swells.
What is upward compression?
Answer: Raising the level of quiet passages rather than lowering loud ones
Upward compression brings up the quietest parts, reducing dynamic range from the bottom instead of the top.
Why might you high-pass filter a compressor's sidechain?
Answer: To stop bass energy from triggering excessive gain reduction
Filtering lows out of the detection path prevents bass-heavy peaks from pumping the whole mix.
What does a true-peak limiter detect that a sample-peak limiter may miss?
Answer: Inter-sample peaks that exceed 0 dBFS after D/A conversion
True-peak metering catches inter-sample peaks that can clip on playback even when sample values stay under 0 dBFS.
Crest factor describes the relationship between which two values?
Answer: Peak level and RMS (average) level
Crest factor is the ratio of peak to average level, indicating how 'peaky' or dense a signal is.
What is a multiband compressor best used for?
Answer: Compressing different frequency bands independently
A multiband compressor splits the signal into bands so each frequency range can be compressed separately.
Why can excessive limiting on a master cause distortion?
Answer: Squashing peaks too hard flattens waveforms and introduces clipping artifacts
Pushing a limiter too hard clips and flattens the waveform, creating audible harmonic distortion.