paul clipsel

Reference Level?

I read a lot about playing back at Reference Level. I am curious if people listen at the Reference level, and if not what sort of average levels do people listen to when recorded by an SPL meter at their listening chair?

PC

David Strand

I was just thinking about this. I rechecked the levels of my setup this weekend and then proceeded to watch LOTR3 and kept the spl meter out and on the arm of my chair out of curiosity. We watched it at a level that was a little higher than we watch most movies (with the rare occasion we watch at a higher level) and the highest I ever saw the needle hit was about 95db with the average loud scene at about 90db and most of the movie not even registering (I left the meter on the 90db scale).

I increased it briefly to the reference level, and there is no way I could watch a movie that loud. I find it hard to believe that in theaters they are hitting 105+db because at that level in my living room it was damn loud.

al lout

I'm listening my movies at about -10 to 15db below RL... There's not way I can listen to some movies at RL, for example... the haunting, U-571, JP (re-mix), Titan EA... My sub will bring down my apartment if I crank it at RL... And I don't think many ppl listen to movies at RL...it's just too loud...

Al,

Richard_M

Mostly I listen at -20RL which is heaps for both music & movies. If I want to impress people I turn it up to -15RL, which gives me around 100-110dB at the listening position (depending on the soundtrack), this I find (depending on the alcohol) is a little over the top for my tastes.

I have a spl meter with peak hold built into my Behringer DEQ2496, so this makes it easy to register what the peaks have been.

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paul clipsel

Thats great info. Its one of those questions I felt funny to ask. I thought it was just me. No way can I play back at RL, as its just too loud. I get a max in my chair of around 80-85dB and anything higher is just me showing off for a short blast. Sustained louder levels and both my wife and I would have to be out of the room. It becomes tiresome and fatiguing. My wife is very sensitive to overly boomy sound, she dislikes HT shops where the set-up is normally extra bass heavy.

PC

BrianWoerndle

I will listen to most movies between -5 and -10. I have a few dramas that I can watch at reference level. There is just something about seeing 00 on the receiver.

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Tim Ranger

I still don't have my own HT, but so watch quite a few movies at a couple of different buddies theaters. Most of the time we listen at -15 to around -10 At full reference, they just seem too loud.

Sami Kallio

I went from RL to -6dB, I was afraid I would damage my hearing. Is there RL for DTS movies at all? They all seem to be considerable louder than in DD.

BRADH

I listen -10 to -7 most of the time. On Lord of the Rings (all three of them) they +4db on the dialog norm. there are other out there as well, some receivers and av processor will show you this but only on DD. So when I listen to disc like this I turn the volume down 4db or 2db.

Some DD are recorded 2db or 4db down as well. So on DD it depends on the dialog norm. were I listen.

Brad

Mike Dzurko

I'll do reference level for development and testing purposes. Normally if my wife and I watch a movie it is somewhere in the -12 to -16 range. Occassionally we'll watch at around -10. If I'm watching by myself later at night it will be around -20 or less to not disturb everyone upstairs. Our teenage daughter and friends usually start around -5 or louder before I come in and turn it down so we can talk upstairs

Mike Dzurko
miked@audioc.com
www.audioc.com

Phil Iturralde

First of all ...

Yamaha RX-V1300
REV LEVEL = -19.5 dB (Volume Digital Readout / approx. 115 dB*)
-10 dB below REF Level = -29.5 dB (approx. 105 dB*)

My usual once or twice a month DVD presentation SPL is approx. -10 dB below REF Level (105/106 dB*)

I say approximately because, ... some DVD's LFE are mixed hotter than others.

So I usually start out dialing -29.5 dB (my -10 dB below REF Level mark) and then monitor my presentation DVD SPL's, ... basically the LFE bombastic actions, before my family & friends come over. In those cases where the DVD LFE is mixed hotter, ... I lower my Volume SPL level until my Analog Radio Shack SPL Meter reads approx. 105/106 dB Fast LFE SPL Peaks levels @ my 'sweet spot