![Image](http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1349/loudbytheseagk3.png)
What is the difference? The new version appears to be much louder. But what if you set the volume so that they are equally loud? In iTunes, for example, there is the "sound check" preference that does it automatically. What do they sound like at the same actual volume?
The "loud" version sounds muffled, like a cassete tape. It's almost like the speakers are wrapped in a towel. Especially the drums. Sometimes, you can barely hear them.
And why is that? There is a limit to the amplitude of sound in a CD. You can't make the loud louder than the loudest, so you take the soft and make it closer to the loud. That is how they make those "loud" records. Problem is, drums make "spikes". They are supposed to be louder than the other instruments. Remember the amplitude: what if every other instrument is already on the maximum? How to get even louder? There is no louder.
And the point is moot: since you own the volume knob, those records are not actually louder; they're just squashed. Again, an image says much:
![Image](http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6868/loudbythesea2cv4.png)
Now that was actually just me and Photoshop, so it may not be 100% precise, but it shows what I mean. The same song: in red, the original; in blue, the "loud" version, adjusted for volume. See the difference? The loud version loses the "spikes". They've been squashed.
What's truly sad is that it is not an aberration. Most recent albums are even worse. They've been getting louder and louder for around a decade now. No one wants their record to be the softest in a bunch. Who pays the price? Your ears. The music is all loud, all the time, and even if you turn down the volume, it gets fatiguing and unpleasant pretty quickly.
So, if you ever wondered why today's music is crap... it's not a lack of talented musicians (although there is a lot of crap out there). It's engineered that way, because clueless record label business types treat music like a damn penis size contest.