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How loud do you listen to your stereo?

Newman

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The iphone built in mic has a LF cut that decent SPL apps turn off.

It also has an SPL limiter that causes the 100 dB limit you mention, and again, decent apps turn it off.

So it's not as bad as one might think.
 

jmhannam

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The iphone built in mic has a LF cut that decent SPL apps turn off.

It also has an SPL limiter that causes the 100 dB limit you mention, and again, decent apps turn it off.

So it's not as bad as one might think.
Can you give an example(s) of such apps which are available for use on i-phone?
 

Newman

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Studio 6. I bet there are others, suggest you ask them (if you are buying)? Best way to be sure.
 

killdozzer

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I always thought I'm listening much louder, but SPL meter says never over 90dB at my listening position (7-8 feet from my speakers). This is not all that accurate. It's with an android smart phone and SPL meter app. I've noticed that coming closer to speakers doesn't really affect the result.

I spend most time between 85 and 89dB and that sounds really loud to me.
 

jmhannam

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I always thought I'm listening much louder, but SPL meter says never over 90dB at my listening position (7-8 feet from my speakers). This is not all that accurate. It's with an android smart phone and SPL meter app. I've noticed that coming closer to speakers doesn't really affect the result.

I spend most time between 85 and 89dB and that sounds really loud to me.
I typically listen to average levels of 75-90 dB SPL, excluding peaks, depending on my mood and music selections. While reading, perhaps 55-70 or lower. I had previously tried NIOSH and a couple other no cost i-phone apps, but now use "Audio Tools" by Studio Six, helpfully suggested by Newman, which did cost $20. I found the video by Amir "How Loud is Loud?" listed above explained the topic clearly. In it, he explains why he measures and reports dB SPL, not various weighted measures such as dBA. The latter are applicable in measuring potentially harmful levels of industrial noise, and are not convertible to dB SPL. My device is not calibrated and cannot accurately measure peaks, but it enables me to compare my preferred listening levels at home with those experienced at a live performance. As we are more sensitive to certain mid frequencies, we perceive them to be louder than lower frequency sounds even when those lower frequencies are higher SPL. In other words, dB SPL are defined physical quantities whereas loudness is based on our frequency dependent sensitivity. Which explains why some music at 90 dB SPL seems no louder to me than other music at 80 dB SPL; the real time analyzer which divides the sound into octaves, or 1/3 octaves, reveals the reason for this is largely the relative amount of energy contained in the low frequency range. In regards to levels changing with varying distance from your speakers, the T60 for my room is about 0.4 seconds from 125 Hz and above (it dips to 0.25-0.05 s in lower frequencies), and my room volume is about 110m^3. As per data on Linkwitz.com site, reverb distance is that distance from the speakers where the level of the direct signal is equal to level of the room signal. G=3 for a dipole speaker; reverb distance= (0.1)(GV/pi*T60)^0.5; which becomes (0.1)*(330/1.256)^0.5= 1.62m My listening distance is 2.44m; (20)*log (listening d/reverb d)= 3.6 dB Which means at my listening position, the "room signal" is 3.6 dB higher than the direct signal from the two speakers. At my listening position with both speakers playing, if the speakers receive a signal of 1W per side, with a sensitivity of 83.7 dB @1 W @1 m, the direct signal from the two speakers is 79 dB SPL and the reverberant signal (3.6 dB greater than direct) is 82.6 dB SPL, which combine to produce 84.2 dB SPL. This may explain why you don't measure a significant change in level as you move closer or further from the speaker.
 

Rottmannash

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Can my new Umik 1 mic measure accurately sound pressure levels? I assume so but wanted to know if I need another app besides REW.
 

izeek

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i thought i listened loud till i took a gander just now.
sounds loud to me but im only averaging mid 60s playing tom browne's funkin for jamaica.
another 10db and ill be rocking the building and still not hit -90db.
 

Sashoir

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Using REW's little meter, it seems as though I generally listen to music (not background) at ~ 75 dB (never been sure why we don't say 7 and a half Bels), and just north of 80 when I'm listening *loudly* (on my personal scale). I think I've only seen my amps' meters move once.
I don't find live orchestral or acoustic jazz performances uncomfortably loud, but I've always worn earplugs to rock or electronic gigs. Perhaps I'd listen a trifle louder if I didn't live in a flat, but certainly my use case is very different from a lot of members here (also why I find most reviews and many measurements useless: something could distort so badly at 104 dB as to cause instant death, but it might be a great product for my pipe-and-slippers volume levels).
 

Dal1as

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Interesting. My room is 15 × 22 foot and my main chair is at 3/4. Did some spl readings and at spirited levels bass peaks were about 110db but mostly it was around 90db at the most. Hardly ear damaging. I put on Heavan and Hell but didn't test what I can crank that to. Lol My hearing is actually pretty good.
 

Larry B. Larabee

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Interesting. My room is 15 × 22 foot and my main chair is at 3/4. Did some spl readings and at spirited levels bass peaks were about 110db but mostly it was around 90db at the most. Hardly ear damaging. I put on Heavan and Hell but didn't test what I can crank that to. Lol My hearing is actually pretty good.
Hardly? Hopefully the levels are earwax limited.

1981- 100db, apartment, 3AM
2021- 65db, house, 3PM
 

Rottmannash

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If you Calibrate it.


Sure the maintainer of the app has calibration data for every android phone :p
It came with a calibration file. Is that what you mean?
 

MaxBuck

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My own preference is 85-90 dB, depending upon the genre of music. Classical tends to be loudest.
 

Blumlein 88

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When I get something new, average volume level goes up about 6 db for a month or two. Double that for new speakers. Why is that?
 

Rufus T. Firefly

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If I'm alone and listening critically I'm usually about 75dB.

At 57 I'm pretty deliberate about what I expose my ears too.
 

Lambda

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It came with a calibration file. Is that what you mean?
Assume this is a relative calibration for flat response?
what is the calibration saying?

Normally you have to use a pistonphone calibrator before measurement to calibrate your meter to ab absolute valeu
 

Dal1as

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Hardly? Hopefully the levels are earwax limited.

1981- 100db, apartment, 3AM
2021- 65db, house, 3PM
Clean ears and recently had a hearing test which was good.

To clarify with an SPL meter set to A weighted it was only the Bass which was going over 90 db. Everything else much less. This is due to the Harmon curve and me using ambient speakers in a large room.

Would definately not listen at such levels near field or plain stereo.
 

RayDunzl

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I'm surprised not to see much in the way of measurements in this thread.

REW has a logging function, activated via the SPL meter.

index.php


The above was news TV last year, from a similar thread.

For definitions of the "L" values:

http://www.acoustic-glossary.co.uk/definitions-l.htm
 
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