Listening volume levels

[Klipsch_Fan]

Just curious what db level's people listen to their music. Also, just measuring sound levels A-weighted (500hz to 10,000hz). Bass is good at times, but I'm more interested in mid-bass and up.

Me, I like 95 to 105db. :D

Fred

[McLoki]

you are a fan of the right speakers for that.... I am usually more in the 80-90db range.

[Midnite Mick]

I've never actually measured but I am sure I would be well under 90 db

Regards,
Mike

[Toolfan66]

It depends on what i am listening to, yesterday was the first time i pushed my 1.2tl's to to 12 O clock, I had WAR's lowrider on, This was on vinyl as well.

I put Diana Krall on (CD) and 10 O clock was just fine. I love her work but after awhile I find myself nodding off.

I will pull out my SPL and see what db's I come up with.

[Shicks18]

If I pop in a concert dvd I am around 90-95 dB.

[Phil Dawson]

GENERALLY music is mixed at approximately 85dB. If you listen at a higher level you will hear more bass and at a lower level you will hear less bass (thus the reason for the "loudness" switches I used to see on receivers. This is only a general guideline and of course there are many recordings mixed at higher and lower levels. 85db can be too loud for some situations and too soft for others but it is a good place to start if you want to hear what the recording is "supposed" to or was intended to sound like.
Phil

SRS-SDA Front
2 cs400i Center
SRS-SDA Rear
Shure 12in sub
B&K ref 10 pre-pro upgr to ref 50
Techniques 1200 TT
Mac MR71 Tuna
Lexicon rt-20 uni player
HK citation pre for TT
2 PSE Studio Mono Blocks
4 PSE Studio Stereo Amps
1 Mac 2100 Amp for sub

[thuffman03]

It all depends on how I feel, what I want to listen too and what time of day.

I have no idea what the db level I am putting out but I can tell how many wpc I am putting out. Most of the time I am between 3 and 10 wpc. When I am rocking the house it will be 200+ wpc. When I am at that level it is really loud.

[Kex]

As stated previously, in another (similar) thread, I prefer to listen at, or near reference level. For movies especially, I find the sound far more dynamic and revealing when adjusted to at least 80 dB(A). To be clear on what I mean by listening at reference level:

- System calibrated manually to 85 dB(C) at the 0 dB setting on the volume knob.
- Volume knob set at 0 dB when watching movies.

For calibration, I use C-weighting. When measuring listening levels, I use A-weighting.

C-weighting has C-curve (flat) frequency characteristics. This setting casues the meter to respond mainly to frequencies in the 32 to 10,000Hz range. Select C-weighting to measure sound levels of musical material.

A-weighting has A-curve frequency characteristics. This setting causes the meter to respond mainly to frequencies in the the 500 to 10,000Hz range, which is the human ear's most sensitive range. Select A-weighting to determine an area's noise level.

If I measure my listening with the A weighting, the values recorded by the meter are significantly lower than with the C weighting, and peaks are not nearly as pronounced. I also find that, with my current receiver, the movie will frequently not sound loud at all, until you try to speak to somebody.

The maximum exposure time for unprotected ears per day at 90 dB(A) is 8 hours. For every 5 dB increase in volume, the maximum exposure time is cut in half.
- 95 dB(A) = 4 hours
- 100 dB(A) = 2 hours
- 110 dB(A) = 30 minutes
- 120 dB(A) = 7.5 minutes

Some common sources of loud sounds:

- Lawn mower: 90 dB(A)
- Snowmobile: 100 dB(A)
- Car horn: 110 dB(A)
- Baby's cry: 115 dB(A)
- Rock concert: 115-120 dB(A)
- Farm implements: 90-110 dB(A)
- Firearms: 125-140 dB(A)
- stereo headphones: 105-110 dB(A)

So, listening above reference level, especially above 100 dB(A), will significantly increase the risk of hearing damage ... and another fun fact:

Hearing damaged by noise is permanently lost and cannot be repaired. Hearing aids amplify sound for remaining hearing, but they do not fix hearing like eye glasses fix vision.

It doesn't matter whether you like the sounds you are exposed to. An orchestra playing Mozart at 120 dB(A) will damage your hearing as quickly as Metallica playing at 120 dB(A).

[lightman1]

Phil...Spot on.....


Kex....I hope a lot of people read this and reconsider cranking the volume because they can.
Save the ears, boys and girls.

[treitz3]

I listen as close to the perfect volume with everything. Reference is being able to recreate what your system is capable of to the most realistic realm possible. Nothing more, nothing less.

When you are absorbed in the music and you feel nothing but the music?

Yeah, you got it.

[Kex]

I listen as close to the perfect volume with everything. Reference is being able to recreate what your system is capable of to the most realistic realm possible. Nothing more, nothing less.

When you are absorbed in the music and you feel nothing but the music?

Yeah, you got it.

Yup, that's pretty much it for me! I use reference level as a rough guide, to avoid playing too loud inadvertently, but the reason I want to play that loud in the first place is because of the realism it seems to recreate. Listening to a piano as though the piano were 100' away or in the next room? Why bother?!

[treitz3]

Just one more thing. I let my ears decide.

[lightman1]

Yup, that's pretty much it for me! I use reference level as a rough guide, to avoid playing too loud inadvertently, but the reason I want to play that loud in the first place is because of the realism it seems to recreate. Listening to a piano as though the piano were 100' away or in the next room? Why bother?!

Eight rows back, a little to my right, acompany(?) low and center......

[John K.]

Fred, you might reconsider that grin after your 95-105dB statement, because if you meant that literally, you're in danger of suffering permanent hearing damage. Those levels are okay for split-second peaks but are far too high for use as an average listening level. There are some rather lenient suggestions in the literature for allowable sound level exposure in the workplace, but these allow for some long-term hearing loss which is considered acceptable(by some)in a work environment. No such loss should be acceptable in a home listening environment and the allowances set by the EPA and World Health Organization for such situations is significantly lower, as illustrated in these tables .

For my own use, when listening "loud" the average level would be on the order of 80-85dB, with very brief peaks on the most dynamic classical material(much almost uniformly very loud pop material has a dynamic range approaching zero)being as much as 20dB above that. More typical listening for enjoying music might be 10dB or so below that, and for listening at background levels at least another 10dB reduction would be applied.

We should be in high fidelity audio to increase our enjoyment of music, and it's unnecessary to damage our hearing while paying extra for the privilege.

[mmadden28]

I wonder, are the damaging levels lower for children?

[dougy]

I don't keep my spl meter on all the time, but when I have checked, even when the wife and kids are away and I feel like I'm pretty much much rockin' the house, sound pressure levels are usually peaking in the 95dB range. But usually, I'm down closer to 85dB peaks. I don't want to damage what's left of my hearing ability.

I once read a that good rule of thumb is to keep the volume down to where you can hear your own normal-level speaking voice over the music. Louder than that is too loud. I don't know how true that really is, but I find myself more or less going by it.