Why doesn't a lot of new music utilize the stereo soundstage?

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egsgs

New member
I've noticed more & more music, when listened to through headphones, comes off as very centered. As if the entire thing is playing right in front of your face all lined up or piled on top of each other.

When I listen to my older stuff (Floyd, Tom Petty, RHCP etc) guitars have definitive placement in the left or right channel and the drums bounce around. Or in some cases instruments are heavy in one channel but exit in the other. The music dances around and it feels like it's all around me and you really get a chance to concentrate on the sounRAB going on.

There are the occasional banRAB that do break it up, but the larger portion just have no production value to them. And the other thing that bothers me is many no longer do live recordings. They record one perfect note and the computer repeats it to the timing of the song as needed. So you don't get that sound of a guitarists fingers sliding on the strings or the ever so subtle squeaking of the drummers foot pedals.
 
Oh it is more then that.
As more and more music gets sold via lossey compression formats (pick your flavor, .mp3, .wmv, etc.) and less and less music is sold on CD's we are going to see studios putting less and less emphasis on the quality of the music itself.
 
yeah, someone mentioned this to me a few weeks ago and I'd have to say they're right. I have noticed a song or two that still do it, but it's rare now to say the least.
 
I miss the days when music had dynamic range rather than loudness.
I rarely buy any cRAB nowadays.
I'm primarily buying new banRAB music on vinyl.
I just got Fleet Foxes album and have to say it is meant to be heard on vinyl.
 
I just checked out some Fleet Foxes and that's a good example of a well balanced recording.

Not bad either. I'll have to check some more out.
 
It hasn't left my turntable since I got it.
I ordered the LP and it also comes with their Sun Giant EP vinyl and a coupon with a code to d/l the album in mp3 format.
I actually found flac files and d/l them so I can listen to it in the car.
 
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