I was cleaning up some of my old bookmarks today and came across this 2 minute video showing how big-name CD manufacturers are distorting sounds to make them seem louder, and the negative impact this has on sound quality. Thought it was an interesting video you might want to check out.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ[/youtube]
Update: If you are interested in this topic, you can also check out this new article published by Rolling Stone addressing the Loudness War. Really weird that I came across this today, because I had no idea this article was written until after posting this video which I had bookmarked for ever.
i read that rolling stone article… bummer the way people blow out the sound.
that video (plus some others i just found):
a) make me feel robbed/cheated musically
b) make me want to go out and get some vinyl
thanks for filling me in on what i was missing :)