Compressed music might be harmful to the ears

The fictional band Spinal Tap could make their instruments louder with the help of amplifiers that went up to 11. Lesser musicians must find other ways to pump up the volume. One well-established trick is compression, which makes music sound fuller by hushing the loudest parts of a track and making quiet parts noisier.

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Uneasy listening”