With technology evolving, people can now enjoy music through countless devices—headphones, bass-boosted speakers, classic boomboxes, you name it. However, one truth remains clear: the quality of music varies greatly depending on how you listen.
Tom Angelripper, frontman of Sodom, is familiar with nearly every listening method, but he draws the line at smartphones. In an interview with Blabbermouth, he explained how music sound is compromised to fit smartphone playback and how this specifically affects guitar tones:
“The main issue is everything ends up digital. Whether you press a CD or master an album, the engineer has to compress the whole file. Before mastering, the guitars are spread wide left and right, far from the drums, creating a spacious production.”
“Since most people listen on smartphones, compression is necessary so guitars can be heard on those small devices. I don’t listen on my phone—I use a high-fidelity amplifier at home. When I listen, I want the best sound possible.”
Angelripper added that Sodom invests heavily in capturing authentic drum sounds, which makes him even less willing to accept poor audio versions:
“We put a lot of effort into it; it was costly. I want organic, real drums. The guitars were recorded on a computer but miked in front of speakers like a live show. Many guitarists use Kemper and profiling amps, which is fine, but it’s not what I prefer.”
