Sound Compression

In my car, radio stations with the most punch
[rock radio], are

heavily compressed
so that low & high volumes
have less distance separation
preventing ambient
sound interference

In playing the NASCAR IMAX dvd, I initially thought the recorded volume was too low. When I increased my playback volume,
it became clear that less coompression was used, allowing very quiet & extremely loud sounds on the same recording.

Some of my "too quiet" cd's such as the Tristano inspired Alive & Well also are more listenable now that I appreciate compression.

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I had in the past wondered why my cd's & tapes did not sound as good in the car as the radio transmission
of the same composition.

Compression

appears to be the answer.

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In my car though, compressed sound does sound better.

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Whether sound compression is good seems to depend on environment: Listening for detail requires a minimum of compression.
Defeating competing sounds such as road noise requires compression.

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Compression is also an issue with the various digital radio formats. The floor & ceiling of digital radio may be compressed too closely.