Manual

13
2.3.6.2 ‘Overall Compression’ Approach
This concept advocates that a more transparent sounding compression can be achieved if a
relatively large portion of the programme level range is under continuous compression. The
rationale here is that the rate of change disturbances are minimised because the compressor
spends less time going over the onset of compression transition range. But the downside is
that peak loudness is less well controlled, therefore quite heavy additional peak limiting is
sometimes required to tailor the performance into an overall mix.
The above graph illustrates this general approach. The threshold is set to around –30dBr and
the ratio is set to 2:1; the level loss has been compensated manually by the make-up control.
In this case we can see that quiet parts of the programme output below –30dBr are boosted by
15dB. The most prominent 30dB range of the programme is represented by only a 15dB
dynamic range, whilst still maintaining a good representation of the dynamic information in
the performance.
This approach can significantly improve the loudness of programme material over a wider
range, where maintaining a decent dynamic range in the output is an important feature.
Therefore this approach works well for the compression of classical, choral and solo
instrumental work.