| AudioREVIEW's Forum Archives - Rave Recordings |
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|   so, how loud do you listen? | cc
May 14, 2001 6:39 PM | | A survey-type of question for a real quiet evening in here... I know you all have widely varying situations--listening at work, in the car, with kids running in and out of the room etc.--but when you say you're going to "listen" to a recording, how loud do you play the music? I've been told classical music audiophiles (excuse the generalization but this is what I was told) do all serious listening (and it's classical music so it's always serious ;-) ) at 100% top volume. I never do that...
I have basically 3 ranges of volume. My default which I use for "active" (defined by I believe it was D. Chalk as devoting close to 100% attention to the music) listening or for almost-active listening is at 12 o'clock on the volume knob--easy reference for comparison. It's not so loud that anyone can complain but loud enough to get the bass frequencies out. Brief comments could be made to others in the room, but conversation is not possible.
When I'm in an even more active mode and ready to get my emotions involved, I take it to the next level. To avoid fatigue and complaints, I usually only play at this level for 1 album or less, and only on weekend evenings. This is definitely "crankin' it"--is this how most people listen all the time they're home?
I have a wide ranging lower level that's for when I want to split the difference between reading, etc. and music, or for when someone else is there I actually want to talk to!
What about youse? |
| Loud enough to be the scourge of the hood | Cosmic Messenger
May 14, 2001 7:10 PM | | According to my Rat Shack sound level meter: For active listening average levels are around 90 to 95 db with brief peaks of up to 120 db. Subjectively those peaks don't sound as loud as the numbers suggest because they are very fast and short. It's these kind of dynamic capabilities that make reproduced music sound real IMO. The Cosmic Message: http://www.actionnet.net/stars |
| WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! | BradH
May 15, 2001 12:35 AM | | Pink noise at 85 is the standard mixing reference for movies and music, although I've seen it listed at 80 or 90 in some places. Depending on how relaxed you are that can seem louder or quieter at times. Classical music benefits from high volume because of the dynamic range; if you turn it down too low you miss the quieter passages. But with the guitar plugged in and rock on the speakers all bets are off. |
| quiet passages, what are those?? | cc
May 15, 2001 11:42 AM | | Is that what you call those stretches in the middle of songs when I can't hear anything? I'd better turn it up louder... |
| It depends mainly on whether or not the wife is home :-) | RPM
May 15, 2001 9:47 AM | | More seriously, it's mainly based on type of music and inherrent volume of the recording. On my system with my speakers and amp the default setting for me ends up at the 9 o'clock position on the volume dial. At this volume level, I can usually clearly hear every instrument, make out all lyrics and hear low level detail without straining. Bass isn't overpowering but audible and room reflections aren't a problem. More importantly Mrs. RPM usually doesn't accuse me of damaging our childrens hearing at this volume level.
If the music warrants (as with hard rock, bass heavy music, and symphonic classical music) and no one else is home, the voulme will go up accordingly. The loudest I generally listen is at the 12 o'clock position since after that room refelections become a problem and make it annoying to listen. I have no way to measure sound pressure level, but I'd guess peaks are approaching 100 db? A More accurate way to describe the volume however is "pretty damn loud".
Rick |
| My 19-Year-Old Is Embarrassed... | Mary
May 15, 2001 3:18 PM | | by how loud I play the music. Recently, he and some friends came over to our home, I didn't hear their arrival, and he came in and asked me to "please turn it down." Role reversal or what???
Even funnier: one of his friends exclaimed on their way out, "Hey, man, your mom was listening to XTC! No way would my Mom ever do that! And she was spinning vinyl!" My boy smiled :)
In answer to your question, cc, it depends on my mood and the recording. If I am stressed or under pressure from work, I'll keep it low if I even listen at all. On the flip side, if the week or day has been an especially good one, I'll turn it up LOUD!
Mother of the soon-to-be 20 year old!
M |
| The world needs more women like you! (nt) | RPM
May 15, 2001 3:30 PM | | |
| hilarious! thanks (nt) | cc
May 15, 2001 7:25 PM | | |
| yer allright, Mary (nt) | tj.
May 16, 2001 9:34 AM | | |
| very quietly | tj.
May 16, 2001 9:49 AM | | I am extremely sensitive to sounds. I always have my Etymotic musicians earplugs handy if not stuck in my ears (knocks 12 db off the ambient noise but maintains a smooth frequency response so it's like having a hi-fi volume control for the outside world). Living like this, I keep the ambient noise of the world I experience fairly quiet: when I walk down a busy street the volume levels I experience are more than half of what you'd experience without a pair of Ety's in your ears.
So, when I play my stereo, my benchmark for loud is probably much lower than the normal person. But, at times I am prone to cranking it up. I have found in my old age (heh heh...) that I tend to progressively turn the volume down as my listening session get longer and longer.
Oh yea, and Mrs. tj is constantly telling me it's too loud.
btw: I am very concerned with the excessive volume levels of sound we as a society are bombarded with on a daily basis. Movies are way too loud for our long term hearing, office computers and other equipment screach high frequency garbage into our ears...often at frequencies many people can't even hear! I often wonder if it's past your level of hearing, is it still causing you hearing loss? When you sit in a room with a speaker at the podium talking into a mike and they ask, "can you hear that in the back?" and you are in the back hearing it just fine, how many people around you yell, "turn it up!" I believe that we have been exposed to such volumes that the overall level of public hearing is declining, and to compensate things are getting louder and louder and louder. This, of course, compounds the problem. Try spending a day (or even an hour) with earplugs in and see just how pleasant life can be...then take them out and realize just how loud the world around you is! |
| Would You Please Repeat That... | Mary
May 16, 2001 11:02 AM | | I apologize, I couldn't hear what you were saying...;)
M |
| re: so, how loud do you listen? | Pat D
May 16, 2001 12:05 PM | | As a preliminary, I should point out that the position of the volume control is not an indication of the sound pressure levels. The program material, recording levels, input sensitivity, characteristics of the volume control, amplifier input sensitivity, speaker sensitivity and the size and characteristics of the room and your listening position are among the factors which are variable. So we cannot tell how loud you are listening from what you have said.
I have the Radio Shack Sound Level Meter, Cat. No. 33-2050, and it is very handy. I set it for A weighting and Slow response, and this gives what is apparently a decent approximation of the average levels. Many here use it to calibrate the levels on all the channels for a home theatre system, as well, but for me, the primary use is to ensure I listen within safe levels--not a real problem for me.
I very seldom listen to music where the loud passages are over 82-84 dB, and never over 90 dB, although when I wasn't looking, one 'guest' turned it up to 95 dB on Dark Side of the Moon. A lot of times, the average levels read 65-75 dB. On a lot of material, 70-75 dB sounds quite loud, and on classical material, 82 dB is generally pretty loud, too. Frankly, I see little point in listening louder.
The little Radio Shack meter is not fast enough to read true peak levels, but the safety standards generally deal with average levels. |
| relative, shmelative... | cc
May 16, 2001 4:00 PM | | "These amps go to 11."
The question was not "how loud do I listen?" but "how loud do you listen?" I wasn't expecting even 2 respondents to have dB meters, though I probably should have. |
| I don't think I was the first... | DustyChalk
May 16, 2001 3:19 PM | | I don't think I defined the term "active listening", the term "active" whatever vs. "passive" is a classic teaching/learning paradigm. But anyway...
Without a db meter, it's really hard for me to describe the level I listen -- it's as quiet as I can get it, while still hearing everything. "...As quiet...", because I'm a musician, and a big music fan, so I suspect my hearing is going to go eventually anyway, so I'm just postpone it out as much as possible.
Me and a couple friends were sitting around the table, discussing what second languages we would like to learn, or have learned, and I said, "I'm a musician, so I want to learn sign language." They didn't get it. |
| they must have been drummers... | cc
May 16, 2001 4:04 PM | | I know you didn't originate the term but I meant for those with elephantine memories to refer back to a discussion here a while ago about listening habits where someone, to my recollection you, gave a working definition that I thought could apply here as well, rather than redefining it. Jeez, who let all the pedants in here today?? ;-) Just kidding. |
| Hey, c. How many lead singers does it take to screw in a light bulb? | BradH
May 17, 2001 11:25 PM | | Just one.
They hold it in the socket and let the world revolve around them.
Heh Heh. |
| re: so, how loud do you listen? | DLD
May 16, 2001 9:45 PM | | More or less too loud all the time, except when the Missus doth protest. |
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