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The transition from analog to digital formats marked a turning point in music production. With the advent of the CD in the early 1980s, music could be recorded and played with a defined maximum peak amplitude, enabling producers to experiment with sound processing techniques like dynamic range compression. Unfortunately, this newfound capability led to a competitive race among musicians and studios to produce louder tracks.
As albums began to outshine one another in volume, some producers resorted to extreme compression methods, often sacrificing sound quality for the sake of loudness. Over-compressed tracks often lead to noticeable distortion and audible clipping, raising quality concerns among listeners.