How loud do you go? Decibel Question (1 Viewer)

[ChrisWiggles]

oh boy, I'm confused now! I responded to the repsonse that got emailed to me, but i didn't read the edited part. oh well! I'll unconfuse myself tomorrow, but yes we are in agreement. I always use the 10db number, though some studies have arrived at slightly lower numbers.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Hee, hee.

 

[Lewis Besze]

There is no such thing LP requires compression because of it's lousy specs.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I suppose you could say that *most* recordings (of recent times) have *some* compression and limiting. But the point is that recordings of today (rock and pop at least) have a lot more compression and limiting than they did back then.

 

[Jackson L]

I usually watch movies at -25 and it is definetly loud enough. Many times it's too loud. I don't have a decible meter but it's loud enought to shake the entire house on movies such as Lord of the Rings. I have a Panasonic SA-HE100 reciever with Advent Smaller Loudspeaker mains and a Polk CS-1 center and Polk PSW-202 sub. It's 100w/channel + 50w on the sub. How can people watch movies at -10? My system isn't high dollar but when I turn it up to -10 I can't bear it. It's just too darn loud and leaves my ears ringing. It never distorts and sounds perfectly clear at those volumes.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Aahhh, have you referenced your system with Avia?

That's the only way to know if your "-10 dB" is the same as mine.

Plus, for example, I use 75 dB as the reference. Some people use 85 dB, so that matters too.

 

[Jackson L]

I haven't. I don't have Avia. However, I would like to get it. Where could I buy it? A quick Google search didn't turn up anything.

EDIT: Nevermind. I found it. Is THIS what I want?

 

[joseFMJ]

Two nights ago I watched Castaway at -5, I usually am between -12 to -18, on my Pioneer1014. I used the DTS soundtrack and dang, it was loud, I turned it up to 0, which is supposed to be the reference level, but I soon backed off....those waves sure sounded real! I was surfed soaked after. My speakers are only like 86db efficient, and my room is small only 11x14. Since most of this movie was nature sounds, I found I could listen at a higher than normal level.

 

[JohnSmith]

I found with cheap nasty audio systems you can't listen to it loudly without sounding terrible and causing headaches because it's so harsh and you're just hearing distortion. I can listen to my system at high levels without seemingly getting the "turn it off" factor of cheaper/worse sounding audio systems. Even at louder-than-normal it's obviously too loud, but no sign of compression/distortion.

For example a Yamaha 3090 with Wharfdale Modus- god that did sound awful at my usual level. All screeching harsh treble. And I couldn't even listen to the Panasonic SA-HE100 system, even at background level just sounded horrible.

My normal level is -20dB, however some sound tracks are recorded really low, for example Star Trek TOS on DVD...around -10dB for normal level. Calibrated to 75dB.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

jackson, yes. you can also visit ovationsw.com

DVE is another good option, joekane.com

 

[Jackson L]

It is certainly not harsh and it is not distorted. It doesn't sound bad at all. I just can't listen to ANYTHING that loud. I don't listen to loud boomy music. Mostly Bluegrass. If my system sounded harsh and distorted I would not own it. It's also not a "cheap nasty" system. All together it's about $3000 worth of stuff. The SA-HE100 puts out some quality sound especially for it's price. Distortion is non exsistent even when it's at 0 decibles. I know what you're talking about with the harsh "turn it off" factor. That's not the problem I have. It doesn't matter what I'm listening to I just don't like it that loud.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

What I find sort of ... interesting ..., is that if you do any kind of searching for decibels and hearing, you find that you can get hearing damage for levels sustained above 85 dB. (There was also a thread in the speakers section on this a while ago.)

I know that would be the case if I tried to listen to my system at 0 dB. Kind of strange that "reference" level is bad for you.

http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/hearingloss.cfm

And then when someone says, "My sub can hit 115 dB in my room," hopefully they are wearing hearing protection.

 

[Jackson L]

That's why I don't really put all my money into getting the loudest system I can. I put it into the sound quality. I have sensetive ears. I always have.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Bass dont have the same affect on the hearing as say midrange or highs.115db at say 30hz is walking a park compare the same amplitude at 1khz, ouch!

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Lewis- I would think that loud bass is worse for you: there's more energy in low freq waves than high. Greater impact on the little bones and cilia and such in your ears. ?? I don't know, but that's what I'd guess. I have looked at some of those "hearing decibel" sites, but none of them made any distinction between low or high freq though.

One example anyway: Got a new sub. Plotted low freq extension. Usually I try to center around 75 dB. This latest time I did 85 dB. Hard to describe, but as the test progressed, I just got this strange, uncomfortable feeling in my head. (40 pts, 10s per point, 10 Hz to 160 Hz by 1/10th octave or better.) Sort of like pressure from outside and inside. Really strange. That's sort of worst case though, in that soundtracks usually doesn't have sustained low freqs for that long.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Run a full scale test tone cycle all the way up to 20khz at high levels 90db+, at 10khz you'll either reaching for the remote,or running out of the room. Yeah around 50hz or so loud bass can sound "weird" but it is not hurting your ear like say loud whistle type of sound which makes your ears ring after.Also all hearing loss happens at the upper frequencies first,unless some type of disiase or bacteria causes the hearing loss.

 

[Andy_Steb]

If you calibrated with Avia and 75dB test tones. What your calling reference level is actually 10dB lower than actual Dolby reference level(peaks 105dB)

 

[Vader]

Where does Denon instruct this? I just upgraded to a Denon 2105 and calibrated using the automatic function (afterwards I checked with a Rat Shack SPL meter, and found it to be spot on). The thing is, I ran the auto check with the volume at minimum, and the pink noise still sounded as normal. I checked the manual again, and even did a text search through the Adobe version. No reference (that I could find) was made to setting the volume at "0 dB" prior to the test. Incidentally, I watched "Spider-Man 2" in DTS the other night at -12.5 dB (loud enough to crack the foundation in my HT), "Ice Age" in Dolby Digital at -10 dB (still sounded quiter than Spidey), and some mono material at -9.5 dB.

A question aside: is it still necessary to turn the amp to minimum volume when shutting down? I remember with many of the older amps, you ran the risk of damaging the speakers if you powered the amp up "hot" (when I have friends over, they start to visibly sweat when watching me turn the volume up several turns...). Thanx!

 

[John S]

I did prove something using a simple DB meter recently.

I have a friend, that stated that his Onkyo sounded better and louder than my Denon 7.1 system.

I tried to explain the clean -vs- not so clean on how that effects percieved volume. Of course he argued hard on it.

So in comes ye old DB meter, his volume was nearly unbearable at only 107db on his peaks. MY system which seemed lower in volume somewhat was peaking well above 120db. He conceeded my point aftre making the 5 minute drive from each others homes and back several times.

We were using the Star Wars DVD's for testing, same discs, same scenes, Empire and Jedi movies in the trilogy by the way. You could not really percieve any distortion in his system, but it was evident the distortion was making the percieved volume louder. I am of the opinion that clean and loud, does not effect ear damage in the same way as loud and even slightly distorted.

 

[AlbertD]

"...That's why I don't really put all my money into getting the loudest system I can. I put it into the sound quality. I have sensetive ears. I always have..."

But coincidently, the higher quality systems are also, usually, the loudest. I didn't buy my Lexus SC-430 because it could go 180 mph. I bought it because it goes from 0-60 very quickly so getting on and off highways is safer and while driving 75mph I am doing so in comfort and safety. A byproduct of that is also getting to 180. I didn't buy a receiver that could drive 150 watts per channel because I wanted to listen to movies at 100db's. I bought one that sounded fantastic and refined at 75-95 db's. The fact that it can actually push 150 watts per channel times 7 is a byproduct. (B&K AVR-507). Some think that buying power is a waste, but I don't think they are looking at power correctly. Most times buying refinement brings with it, power, as a side benefit. Or perhaps its the ability to drive power that gives refinement without having to strain at lower volumes and speeds.