What is your preferred volume level?

BayStBroker

BayStBroker

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I wonder what volume levels many of you on Shark use for critical listening? I also wonder how high you tend to go when you "rock out." I prefer to listen at around 85db on average, and I will go up to 102db if I want "to get the Led out." I suspect I am listening too loud and that I should bring it down 5-10db.

I enjoyed the following brief comments from a member of a different forum who posted on this topic:

"When I was a recording/mixing engineer, I was taught to monitor at between 80 and 90dB SPL as that was the level that our ears had the flattest frequency response, relative to the Fletcher Munson equal loudness contours: The SouthSIDE Of The Tracks - Glen Stephan - Independent Recording Network

The film industry has adopted 83 db SPL as the standard to mix and listen to. And Bob Katz, a mastering engineer, has put forward a recording industry proposal that states the same 83 db SPL listening level as well. How to Make Better Recordings Part 2 - Digital Domain: CD Mastering | Mastered for iTunes | Audio Mastering | Blu-Ray Mastering

For critical listening, to get the same effect (i.e. tonal balance or timbre) as if I was sitting in the mixing chair, I would listen at the recommended 83 db SPL. But if I wanted to rock out on my http://www.computeraudiophile.com/blogs/Rock-n-Roller-s-Guide-Designing-Audiophile-Sound-System then a much higher can be fun!"

So Sharks, how high do you like it? And how high do you go?

 
I like to lope along with average SPLs between 65 and 70dB. When I rock out it's at about 90 to 92dB with peaks over 100dB. I try not to do that so often. I want to be able to enjoy music for a long, long time.
 
For me, around 60 to 70db, maybe less with about 5 db of headroom all the time (I haven't measured), even if I want to "rock out" it stays in that range. I find for my ears that is where I get the most detail and transparency. Sure, my systems can fly well above that and still sound great, but I don't like it.
I can't stand loud volume. All I know is that folks with mild hearing loss struggle to hear my system where I play it.
Audio shows and dealer demos can be rough, so I do not do them too often, if rarely. Yes, my concert days are long behind me. (I used to wear ear plugs to those most of the time).
No, I don't have golden ears, there is no such thing in my opinion. I did not know I would be needing it later in life, but I am glad I had enough forethought to try to protect my hearing. These days, my ears over-compensate for my eyes. I can hear frequencies a tiny bit higher than I should be able to at this point, but I'm glad I did not abuse my ears much when I was younger and I was heavily involved in live music for a good 10 years+.
 
Damaged hearing from the younger years, I hang out today around the 70-85 mark depending on my setting location. I've already got ringing going on 24 x 7 with Tinnitus so I would like to keep whats left of hearing for my much older years..
 
Interesting and important topic. I strive to follow NIOSH recommendations, which are stricter than OSHA rules *):

Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart

Given that, I try to find the best compromise between visceral impact and realism on one hand, and avoidance of excessive stress to my ears on the other.

For rock, which is the most even in loudness and thus the most stressor on the ears, I typically stay in the 83-90 dB range, trying not to exceed the upper limit and on average staying below that. For jazz I am usually at an average of 85 dB, with occasional excursions up to 92 dB, with up to 95 dB as exception.

For orchestral music peaks usually do not exceed 94 dB, with an occasional foray into the 96-97 dB range **); orchestral peaks are usually quite short and average levels of that kind of music are much lower.

I keep chamber music mostly quite loud, as if sitting rather close to the performers. For string quartets for example that means average levels in loud movements of 80-85 dB, with peaks up to 90 dB. Anything above that would be unrealistic anyway, in my view. In a small concert hall for chamber music, when you sit further away from the performers even when in one of the front rows, levels are often lower.

Very long listening sessions usually see some breaks in order to let the ears recover.


__________


*) NIOSH = National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; OSHA = Occupational Safety & Health Administration

**) My daily-use dB meter, though faster reacting at peaks than my other one, still seems to be a bit slow. Once I played an orchestral piece for someone else and he asked me to turn it down a bit because on his dB meter peaks exceeded 100 dB, while on mine it was around 95 dB. But those 100 dB excursions must be short peaks indeed. It's all about time exposed plus peak levels, not just peak levels themselves. On another symphonic movement his readings were the same as mine, with peaks around 92-93 dB.
 
I am early 80s and can go to 85db for regular listening. I sometimes listen to orchestral with peaks at 100db or just over but mean is 85db. Heavy rock is around an average of 87db.
 
still-one said:
Am I to assume that everyone has been measuring from their listening position?
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Yes, of course. Six feet behind me the levels are already 5 dB down. And directly at the speakers -- don't ask. I've held my dB meter there, but not my ears ;)
 
Incidentally, some Sharks may not know that there are any number of decibel meter "apps" available for today's smartphones. I use "Decibel 10th" on my iPhone. And, yes, I measure Db levels from my listening position.
 
I don't have a meter and I don't have a smart phone. I should find a cheap one (amazon is probably my friend on that, it's my friend on lots of stuff). I don't know if it's worth it though because it is something I would most likely use once in my lifetime.
 
I usually listen around 85db. When I'm trying to relax and maybe nap a little, I listen much lower. When I Rock out, it's between 90-95db.
 
JackD201 said:
I like to lope along with average SPLs between 65 and 70dB. When I rock out it's at about 90 to 92dB with peaks over 100dB. I try not to do that so often. I want to be able to enjoy music for a long, long time.
Click to expand...

I thought I read stories about your listening levels knocking the dust off of ceilings and scaring women and children. :)
 
Al M. said:
The NIOSH recommendations are A-weighted. What is the difference with C-weighting? I believe C-weighting is the objective SPL, but how do the values differ?
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O.k, found the answer to my own question:

dBA weighting filter frequency to dBA and dBC dB(A) and dB(C) A weighted sound calculate DIN IEC 651 calculator equal-loudness contours - sengpielaudio Sengpiel Berlin

It appears that at low frequencies dBA readings are much lower, but at high frequencies, where the ear is most vulnerable to hearing loss (?), the curves more or less converge.
 
LenWhite said:
I've previously read sound greater than 90dB can cause hearing damage. I tend to listen to music frequently for fairly long durations, so I use a Radio Shack decibel meter to record the listening volume of every album I own for peaks between 85dB - 90dB.

Dangerous Decibels » How Loud is Too Loud?
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That link is useful, but a bit misleading. The recommendations are actually taken from the NIOSH table, which is in dBA, and listed here as dB. Is your Radio Shack decibel meter A-weighted (corresponding to the NIOSH recs) or C-weighted?
 
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