Interesting paper - bottom line, as I guessed, is softer pads help reduce the high frequency squeal. Pity, as soft pads won't work as well in performance and track driving.

The Viper Poseurs made great strides in ruining that car. For example, the cam got milder to smooth the idle and reduce the noise made by the transmission gears caused by the rough idle (so less power). The brake pads got softer to fix brake squeal and so it's one stop to a customer in a Viper.

Let's not do that to the Gallardo, shall we? Go to a race track and listen to the cars in the paddock. They make all manner of inglorious noises when forced to trundle about at low speeds. But in their element on the track, the noises all get glorious and the driving experience . . . .

Brake squeal is NORMAL with high performance brakes and a much a badge of performance as exhaust noise. If others don't know that, so what?