On the ford radio there is a button labeled com.
I guess that is compression. I know it makes the music louder
but does it change the music out of proportion?
What is the exact function of this button.
thanks

 

Some music has soft parts and loud parts.

When you activate COMP(compression) it reduces the range between what is soft and what is loud so, the whole piece does sound louder.

When COMP is not activated the music is played as the artist intended, which may be wonderful in your home but, not so great in a truck, thus the COMP button.

 

It is the same button as the old one that looked like a little rhombus isnt it? A little square dealy

 

the comp button enhances sound frequencies that us human's hear best. Basically it boosts those frequncies so that when you are listening to your music at low volume levels you can hear the more important parts of the music. be very careful when using this feature when listening to your music at high volume levels, because using this feature at high volume levels can make the deck send a clipped signal (distortion) to your speakers, and in turn blow your speakers.

 

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That's loudness compensation, not dynamic range compression. The comp button boosts all frequencies below a certain db level, and attenuates all frequencies above a certain db level. The result is that the quiet passages are louder and the loudest passages are quieter. It make it easier for the human ear to hear all of the music in a noisy environment. FM does it all the time. This is why CDs sound so great at home, but you really have to crank them up to fully enjoy them in a vehicle.

I think all decks should have some sort of variable loudness compensation and variable compression control. That way I can still enjoy the music when my wife is in the truck with me. Two presets [crankin'] and [wife'n].

 

oops, you're right, my bad.