In this case, 'compression' does not refer to data compression like MP3 files, but rather a 'part of the 'loudness war,'' a recording industry technique in which the music's dynamic range (the range from soft to loud) is squished together to make music sound as loud as possible. The more dynamic Guitar Hero version is more likely to resemble the songs as recorded by the group. The Guitar Hero version, on the other hand, uses a fuller dynamic range, as illustrated by a soundwave comparison pictured above. has been heavily compressed, limited and/or clipped, and sounds massively distorted as a result,' said recording industry mixing engineer Ian Shepard in a blog post relayed by Wired.
Internet audiophiles have discovered that the Guitar Hero version of Metallica album Death Magnetic is of better quality than the retail CD recently released by label Universal-and they have science to back it up.
