Maybe the albums have high noise recorded? I know some albums have quite a lot of background noise included from various sources.

You could check this by creating a. vaw or flac file and open it in Audacity:

www.audacityteam.org


It's a free audio edit software. You can select the part of the song with "noisy silence" and analyze it with "Plot spectrum" tool: manual.audacityteam.org/man/plot_spectrum.html



You can then compare the plot with the really silent albums, the difference should be visible on the plot if the noise is recorded on the album.

Hi Bwaze,

Thanks for chiming in and for your suggestion. I understand the approach you recommend to chase down the source of the noise. I am just not interested enough in chasing this issue further to perform the analysis you have suggested. It would not surprise me to find that certain CDs contain a bit of background noise (venue cooling system fans, etc.). I have a recording of Rhapsody in Blue in which cooling system noise is clearly audible.

Best,

Art

Art,

I have heard a kind of white noise on many recordings, both from disc and via flac. I have some Columbia Bernstein NY Phil recordings from the early 60s where I can hear what I think is air conditioning (HVAC) noise. On one recording (Grofe Grand Canyon Suite) The recording engineer starts with a high level at the beginning of the piece, trying to capture the very quiet passage at the beginning. Later, when the piece gets louder, the engineer reduces the level and I can hear the noise floor drop. That may have been a combination of tape hiss and HVAC, but I'm HVAC is a big part of it.

I have heard what I think is HVAC noise on newer digital recordings too. Not all halls are dead quiet. It could even be traffic noise leaking through the walls. When Decca recorded the Montreal Symphony with Dutoit (DDD), they blocked traffic on the street outside the church recording venue to reduce the noise, so this kind of noise is a possibility. We live in a noisy world that we tend to tune out most of the time. But it's still there. I have used the spectrum analyzer app on my smartphone and have been amazed at the level of noise that is present but I don't notice.

Another possible source is microphone noise. All modern recordings have multiple microphones in use, all going into a mixing system that could have its own noise. The possibilities are pretty much endless, and I'll bet recording engineers tear their hair out trying to get this down to acceptable levels.

Bottom line is I've heard variable kinds of noise on both ADD and DDD, and not on all recordings. It's not a fault with my system, because the noise sounds different on different recordings.

Charlie

Hi Charlie,

I think your experience closely matches mine and I'll bet we're hearing the same sorts of random background noises. In my case, until I noticed the noise on that first recording, I was simply not aware of its presence. But, once heard, then I began to wonder what it was and where it came from.

My curiosity is essentially satisfied now - especially since I do not suspect flaws to be present in my equipment.

Best,

Art

You can wear an earplug and enjoy music.

Good suggestion, except that I am not a fan of either earphones or earplugs.

Thanks