CD sounds too compressed in laptop.

[Mike JV]

My recording set up is no doubt primitive by today's standards but I've learned to get some very good results from it. When I burn a CD the signal path is; signal from Tascam DP02 into an Alesis Nanoverb compressor into a Harman Kardon CDR 2.

After I burn a CD I listen to it in 2 other CD players I have at home. Came out great. But when I play it in my laptop it sounds overly compressed. Ridiculously so. I tried adjusting the setting for compression on the laptop but it made no difference.

Any suggestions?

 

[JKos]

What do other CDs sound like on your laptop? Do you have a reference recording you use to (subjectively) evaluate various listening systems?

I tried adjusting the setting for compression on the laptop

Your laptop audio has audio playback compression settings?

- John

 

[byacey]

My recording set up is no doubt primitive by today's standards but I've learned to get some very good results from it. When I burn a CD the signal path is; signal from Tascam DP02 into an Alesis Nanoverb compressor into a Harman Kardon CDR 2.

After I burn a CD I listen to it in 2 other CD players I have at home. Came out great. But when I play it in my laptop it sounds overly compressed. Ridiculously so. I tried adjusting the setting for compression on the laptop but it made no difference.

Any suggestions?

I don't know if you have any means for analyzing your audio files, but I usually shoot for an RMS average of the entire file @ -16db FSD.

 

[Mike JV]

What do other CDs sound like on your laptop? Do you have a reference recording you use to (subjectively) evaluate various listening systems?


Your laptop audio has audio playback compression settings?

- John

As I'm typing I'm listening to a CD of songs I did from years ago and while it sounds "just on the verge" of too much compression it's coming across much better than the CD I just burned today.
Again, in another CD player it sounds just fine.

The compressor on my laptop is in Tools: Effects and Filters.