volume gets progressively lower

[necroking]

last couple records ive listened to the volume at the beginning of the record is louder than at the end, and its the same way on both sides. any opinions? Bad pressings?

[dethrock]

Put on a record you know doesn't do that and see if it does now.

[bearchuck]

last couple records ive listened to the volume at the beginning of the record is louder than at the end, and its the same way on both sides. any opinions? Bad pressings?

 

Yes. Bad pressing.  Totally.  The plant probably made the outer portion of the record with loud vinyl pellets while the inner grooves were pressed with quiet plastic.  It's a standard industry practice.

 

But seriously, when you're sequencing a record, it's always suggested that the quieter / less-dynamic songs go at the end of each side.  Much less of a chance of inner groove distortion.

 

Of the couple records you're referring to, do they contain big, dynamic tracks at the beginning of each side and less dynamic songs at the end?  And by dynamic, I mean substantial shifts between the loud and quiet parts within each track.  Most likely, your ears are playing tricks on you. Sometimes when we hear a song with big, dynamic passages, we perceive it as being "loud" ... especially compared to a track that stays consistently around 0 dB on the VU meter.

[necroking]

The end tracks are not less dynamic as you suggested. The amount of volume depletion seems to vary depending on the record, but it is quite noticeable if I play the first track right after the last. I have no clue what could cause this.