Linked by pepa on Fri 9th Nov 2012 23:18 UTC
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Not only when it is recorded at low levels, that's the whole point (of dynamic compression, how it's used in Loudness War, etc.) - but, yes, changing the sound somewhat.
At the very least it would tend to make noise more prominent. If the processing is simple (as is to be expected in such general user playback solutions) it could also introduce clipping of louder moments (really short moments).
Generally, that's a discussion more for hydrogenaudio.org
(one of the better ~audio resources on the web, with a strict no-BS policy, adhering to essentially scientific method, properly performed blind tests)




Member since:
2005-07-06
You can't really, hardware has clear limits (plus it working at/near them often isn't the most optimal situation, can introduce greater distortions).
Of course, there are some tricks - with volume control going "to 11" it's more than likely at the cost of reducing dynamic range, introducing sound compression (NOT the same as psychoacoustic sound compression, like mp3! Check Wiki article about "Loudness War" to get an idea - compressing the dynamic range features there prominently). It perceptibly increases loudness, even while not going beyond the maximum threshold of audio output levels.
In short, it alters the sound somewhat, happens at the cost of quality.