Dire Straits - Private Investigations Very Quiet At The Beginning ?

[Snooker]

If you have private investigations by dire straits, do you agree the beginning is "very" quite where the lyics are spoken at the beginning ?

I am sure it is not my hi-hi but just want to make sure

 

[AntAxon]

If you have private investigations by dire straits, do you agree the beginning is "very" quite where the lyics are spoken at the beginning ?

I am sure it is not my hi-hi but just want to make sure

I tried it on Spotify and you are correct the spoken bit at the beginning is very quiet. You could turn it up to eleven. *biggrin*

 

[lindsayt]

It's something called dynamics. Which you get on uncompressed recordings.

Private Investigations has a DR of 18

Turn it up a bit for the full impact when the track gets going. Shivers down the spine time.

 

[Snooker]

Still very quiet at 11, thats what it was on, and if you turn it up more the rest of the song is too loud later on, its as if it has not been recorded properly, would you agree ?

 

[Electro]

Still very quiet at 11, thats what it was on, and if you turn it up more the rest of the song is too loud later on, its as if it has not been recorded properly, would you agree ?

No that's exactly how it should be, as Lindsayt said it's a recording with a wide dynamic range so the quiet bits are quiet and the loud bits are LOUD just like live music.

It's a shame all recordings are not like this!

 

[Blacksabbath25]

It's correct I have the album on cd it's just the way it is just put the volume up but when it gets to the louder parts of the song it will be to loud *smile*

 

[AntAxon]

Still very quiet at 11, thats what it was on, and if you turn it up more the rest of the song is too loud later on, its as if it has not been recorded properly, would you agree ?

I think it is supposed to build in volume just like Ravel's Belero. As far as turning it up to eleven see link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO5S4vxi0o

 

[Snooker]

Thanks for your replies, at least it is not me or the hi-fi *smile*

 

[Gaz37]

My copy is fairly quiet too but I wouldn't say excessively so.

The instrumental part is amazing especially the effects like the cat meowing etc.

 

[chris_bates1974]

The final track on the excellent Hans Zimmer soundtrack to Inception is a great example of this. And a great listen!

 

[Rethep]

Still very quiet at 11, thats what it was on, and if you turn it up more the rest of the song is too loud later on, its as if it has not been recorded properly, would you agree ?

I think it is supposed to build in volume just like Ravel's Belero. As far as turning it up to eleven see link.

The DR in the Bolero is much higher than this one imo. I don't think DR in Dire Straits is exceptional.

 

[lindsayt]

Private Investigations DR 18.

The Leonard Bernstein recording of Bolero has a DR of 19.

Rickie Lee Jones Ghetto of my Mind has a DR of 24.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

I find that both tracks on side one are the same, (Telegraph Road and Private Investigations), they both need to be cranked a little and build to excellent crescendos at the end of both tracks. Love Over Gold is my personal favourite Dire Straits album.

Love Ravel's Bolero too, for the same reason.

 

[Sorreltiger]

I'm old enough to remember that, when the recording first came out, this opening was used by hi-fi enthusiasts to judge the quality of their systems. Thousands of us strained our ears to hear every little nuance!

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm old enough to remember that, when the recording first came out, this opening was used by hi-fi enthusiasts to judge the quality of their systems. Thousands of us strained our ears to hear every little nuance!

such as the subtle closed hi-hat hits. If you want to hear what wide dynamic range is, hunt down the Star Tracks or Time Warp CDs on Telarc from 1984. Containing mostly orchestral renditions of then-recent film sound tracks, plus a smattering of synth tracks by Don Dorsey, these CDs actually came with a warning on their booklets.

As for the DR database, I wish I knew what the figures actually meant in a language that I can understand as an amateur producer. I know the smaller the number the less the dynamic range, but i've no idea whether the number directly relates to the RMS volume level, the average LUFS level, or some concoction of their own which relates to neither.

 

[Al ears]

I'm old enough to remember that, when the recording first came out, this opening was used by hi-fi enthusiasts to judge the quality of their systems. Thousands of us strained our ears to hear every little nuance!

such as the subtle closed hi-hat hits. If you want to hear what wide dynamic range is, hunt down the Star Tracks or Time Warp CDs on Telarc from 1984. Containing mostly orchestral renditions of then-recent film sound tracks, plus a smattering of synth tracks by Don Dorsey, these CDs actually came with a warning on their booklets.

As for the DR database, I wish I knew what the figures actually meant in a language that I can understand as an amateur producer. I know the smaller the number the less the dynamic range, but i've no idea whether the number directly relates to the RMS volume level, the average LUFS level, or some concoction of their own which relates to neither.

Reminds me of my 1812 Overture SACD with a warning about possible damage to speakers when the cannons go off.......

 

[andyjm]

I'm old enough to remember that, when the recording first came out, this opening was used by hi-fi enthusiasts to judge the quality of their systems. Thousands of us strained our ears to hear every little nuance!

such as the subtle closed hi-hat hits. If you want to hear what wide dynamic range is, hunt down the Star Tracks or Time Warp CDs on Telarc from 1984. Containing mostly orchestral renditions of then-recent film sound tracks, plus a smattering of synth tracks by Don Dorsey, these CDs actually came with a warning on their booklets.

As for the DR database, I wish I knew what the figures actually meant in a language that I can understand as an amateur producer. I know the smaller the number the less the dynamic range, but i've no idea whether the number directly relates to the RMS volume level, the average LUFS level, or some concoction of their own which relates to neither.

The DR measure is an approximation, and at best should be looked upon as an index - the absolute number doesn't really mean anything. A bit of googling will get to the formula, but effectively it is the ratio of peak to average. One thing it is not is dynamic range as an engineer would recognise it.

 

[andyjm]

If you have private investigations by dire straits, do you agree the beginning is "very" quite where the lyics are spoken at the beginning ?

I am sure it is not my hi-hi but just want to make sure

... and this is why those of us who remember the glory days of recorded music are (I am afraid) never going to experience them again. A whole generation has become used to compressed music where even the quiet bits are expected to be loud. I can imagine the discussion in a control booth these days 'Its a bit quiet at the beginning, better boost it..."

Dire Straits took a great deal of care over their recordings and along with artists like Donald Fagen produced recordings that really show equipment at its best. The 'smashing bottle' in Private Investigations was one of my quick tests to see whether the system I was listening to was worth further attention. If I could clearly hear the bottle smash, then it was worth spending more time on.

 

[Oldphrt]

I will launch a private investigation into it.

 

[macdiddy]

*biggrin*

 

[Gaz37]

If you have private investigations by dire straits, do you agree the beginning is "very" quite where the lyics are spoken at the beginning ?

I am sure it is not my hi-hi but just want to make sure

... and this is why those of us who remember the glory days of recorded music are (I am afraid) never going to experience them again.  A whole generation has become used to compressed music where even the quiet bits are expected to be loud.  I can imagine the discussion in a control booth these days 'Its a bit quiet at the beginning, better boost it..."

Dire Straits took a great deal of care over their recordings and along with artists like Donald Fagen produced recordings that really show equipment at its best.  The 'smashing bottle' in Private Investigations was one of my quick tests to see whether the system I was listening to was worth further attention.  If I could clearly hear the bottle smash, then it was worth spending more time on.

 

I can hear the bottle smash on my son's Bose soundbar

 

[lindsayt]

Gaz37, does it startle you and sound like someone in your room is smashing a bottle, or does it sound like a soundbar playing a bottle being smashed?

 

[Gaz37]

Gaz37, does it startle you and sound like someone in your room is smashing a bottle, or does it sound like a soundbar playing a bottle being smashed?

Definitely the latter

 

[Vladimir]

I know it's supposed to sound like that...

BUT!

It's annoying just like Ravel's Bolero. Get on with it man! *aggressive*

 

[GeoffreyW]

There's been countless examples of groups playing such sonic tricks on us, over many years. Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and A Momentary Lapse of Reason are recent examples. Falling rain was popular, for a while. It's slightly disconcerting when the sound disappears, I admit but after re-listening to these tracks just to confirm that it's intentional, I revel in the trickery, and enjoy it.