How loud do you like your music?

[Rottmannash]

I voted under 50db. I'm listening right now about 16 feet away from the speakers and measured the SPL using my phone. It was mostly under 40db and I wouldn't want it much louder. When I crank it up to get even 60db at listening position, I don't want to listen for long.

I'm the guy who hates how loud movie theaters get and even musical theater, if it's not something I really enjoy, grates on me at the volumes usually used.

I cannot fathom listening at 70db+ in a home system for any period of time. I'd rather have silence.

I believe many smarter folks than I have noted phone meters aren't terribly accurate, except for maybe the iPhone one and it depends on the weighting and other settings.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

The ^highlighted^ part above.

My observation on the numbers and perception match your’s as well.

I’ll add that above 100dB, it is only the speakers that are not distorting wildly, i.e. the ones that still sound like they are at 85dB.
You just see lips moving and cannot hear someone else’s words.
That is a danger zone, as if one turns it up to the point that they sound loud, the lower distortion systems get loud - before they sound loud.

This is accourate. I changed my speakers from a flagship slim-line speaker to Kappa 8.2i's and the SPL gets dangerous waay faster than you would know it as they handle more power much cleaner.
Playing loud I leave the NOISH app open on one of the iPads while listening. My watch will also notify me if I'm exposed to high SPL in duration that could be dangerous.

 

[tmtomh]

This is accourate. I changed my speakers from a flagship slim-line speaker to Kappa 8.2i's and the SPL gets dangerous waay faster than you would know it as they handle more power much cleaner.
Playing loud I leave the NOISH app open on one of the iPads while listening. My watch will also notify me if I'm exposed to high SPL in duration that could be dangerous.

Yes, I found the same with Kappa 9s.

 

[Sokel]

Loud is not about hearing at some level and up,it's about feeling,it's the physical impact that in a healthy configuration comes from midbass (and not the rambling lows)
It's where big,broad boxes exceed (mostly) .

 

[sigbergaudio]

I think this question is a bit nuanced. We presented at a Hifi show this weekend, and when asked a surprising amount of people wanted to listen at 85-90dB before being happy with the sound level. I suspect they may not routinely listen that loud at home, but people would like to listen relatively loud when attempting to judge speaker quality. And perhaps also when sitting down to really listen, as opposed to more casual listening. So it's a bit of a "depends" question.

 

[killdozzer]

I think this question is a bit nuanced. We presented at a Hifi show this weekend, and when asked a surprising amount of people wanted to listen at 85-90dB before being happy with the sound level. I suspect they may not routinely listen that loud at home, but people would like to listen relatively loud when attempting to judge speaker quality. And perhaps also when sitting down to really listen, as opposed to more casual listening. So it's a bit of a "depends" question.

It' not. It's more of a case of "you being lazy to read the question". It specifically asks participants to assess long listening sessions and in their home, not elsewhere.

Not only that, but the listening session should be as long as an entire album at least.

It really leads you to a specific answer - what loudness do you actually enjoy.

 

[killdozzer]

Loud is not about hearing at some level and up,it's about feeling,it's the physical impact that in a healthy configuration comes from midbass (and not the rambling lows)
It's where big,broad boxes exceed (mostly) .

Very true. Also, early R.E.M.s crunchy guitar I can stand at much lower levels than say Sade. This was the reason I proposed a song to be used in testing. Bass being one of those elements that makes a listener feel like it's louder than it really it, I proposed a song that isn't bass heavy.

 

[killdozzer]

The ^highlighted^ part above.

My observation on the numbers and perception match your’s as well.

I’ll add that above 100dB, it is only the speakers that are not distorting wildly, i.e. the ones that still sound like they are at 85dB.
You just see lips moving and cannot hear someone else’s words.
That is a danger zone, as if one turns it up to the point that they sound loud, the lower distortion systems get loud - before they sound loud.

As much as this is true, it doesn't affect this poll since it's not about "loudest before it starts to distort" and it's not about "the loudest you can put up with", it's just what YOU like for your prolonged listening sessions.

Of course, I understand that people might choose different answer with better speakers, but I was inclined to think in a forum such as this one, most people have what they chose and what they liked at the time they were buying in a given price range. Meaning that even if you wish for something else, what you have now probably won't be "early distorting" speakers.

 

[killdozzer]

I voted under 50db. I'm listening right now about 16 feet away from the speakers and measured the SPL using my phone. It was mostly under 40db and I wouldn't want it much louder. When I crank it up to get even 60db at listening position, I don't want to listen for long.

I'm the guy who hates how loud movie theaters get and even musical theater, if it's not something I really enjoy, grates on me at the volumes usually used.

I cannot fathom listening at 70db+ in a home system for any period of time. I'd rather have silence.

This is really interesting. There I was thinking I like it moderate to low. Do you mind me asking how you measured?

I also don't like today's standards in SPL (by which I mainly think of THX). And even THX is worse than before in venues like "Extreme Cinestar" (it's a venue where you supposedly "feel" movies more intensly - but it's all just louder, nothing else. There was SOME talk about color scheme being different, but I wasn't able to confirm).

Still, on the other hand, your levels may as well ask for obligatory loudness to prevent music program from loosing low end. Do you use any type of loudness or perhaps adjust for the low end loss in your DSP, if you use one?

If you do adjust for low end, I'm curious how you do it? I found my old Yamaha's type of loudness knob surprisingly good. It, being a knob rather than a switch, is a scale to gradually attenuate sound while preserving low end. Rather than just flicking a switch on which is insensitive of small increments in volume. Meaning that 40 and 50 don't need the same amount of low end increase.

 

[killdozzer]

Sometimes when I'm frustrated I need to put on some music to help with that, and I crank it til the frustration goes away, but generally I listen at reasonable volumes.

Wow!! I hope this is a short listening session. To quote Buddhists; You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Allow for one advice (I'm not being smug or high n' mighty, it's really friendly) - if you turn up to the level of your frustration, this is the shortest way to go too loud and without noticing. Take care of your hearing.

You can spend the energy of your frustration on something productive, like chopping woods. "Anger push-ups" will make you buff in no time.

 

[Ricardus]

Wow!! I hope this is a short listening session. To quote Buddhists; You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Allow for one advice (I'm not being smug or high n' mighty, it's really friendly) - if you turn up to the level of your frustration, this is the shortest way to go too loud and without noticing. Take care of your hearing.

You can spend the energy of your frustration on something productive, like chopping woods. "Anger push-ups" will make you buff in no time.

Yeah, weightlifting helps a lot normally, but sometimes you just gotta slamdance.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I listen at 70 dB or a bit less normally according to the sound level meter on my phone.

 

[Sokel]

It matters a lot how we measure.

Below is one of Amir's reference songs,"Fading Sun" by Terje Isungset first measured with A weighting and then with C weighting.
Level is the exact same,I touched nothing during the recordings:



A weighting



C weighting

Observing it in real time,lows just don't register in Average and Max meters with A weighting,only peaks at LZpeak (which is Z weighted).
I don't know which one is technically correct to present but it feels that C tells more of the story.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Yeah, weightlifting helps a lot normally, but sometimes you just gotta slamdance.

Ha! -Your profile picture checks out with your post just fine then..

 

[Deleted member 48726]

It matters a lot how we measure.

Below is one of Amir's reference songs,"Fading Sun" by Terje Isungset first measured with A weighting and then with C weighting.
Level is the exact same,I touched nothing during the recordings:


View attachment 315626
A weighting


View attachment 315627
C weighting

Observing it in real time,lows just don't register in Average and Max meters with A weighting,only peaks at LZpeak (which is Z weighted).
I don't know which one is technically correct to present but it feels that C tells more of the story.

C tells more IMO. Both in terms of what we hear and feel in terms of peak levels but also what's needed on the technical level to achieve.

A weighting is more for dose measuring long term.

 

[Robbo99999]

C tells more IMO. Both in terms of what we hear and feel in terms of peak levels but also what's needed on the technical level to achieve.

A weighting is more for dose measuring long term.

My understanding is that A-Weighting is more specific when relating to hearing damage danger, so in the context of this thread then A-Weighting is probably the most applicable in my opinion.

 

[killdozzer]

My understanding is that A-Weighting is more specific when relating to hearing damage danger, so in the context of this thread then A-Weighting is probably the most applicable in my opinion.

...and why we already opted for that. Also some other types get influenced a lot by low frequencies and those are misleading. Usually people get a sense that the music is much louder when they hear a bit of lows. This might get them to lower the volume on bass heavy music and report here with not very accurate numbers.

 

[Robbo99999]

...and why we already opted for that. Also some other types get influenced a lot by low frequencies and those are misleading. Usually people get a sense that the music is much louder when they hear a bit of lows. This might get them to lower the volume on bass heavy music and report here with not very accurate numbers.

Cool. I don't think the addition of bass in music makes people turn down the volume level though, because as you already know A-weighting discounts a lot of the bass area as bass is less likely to cause hearing damage and less likely to sound loud for any given SPL vs higher frequencies.

 

[80smusicsean]

Jazz at 75db and Beastie Boys at 85db. The Cure, 80-85dB. But this is based on Sound Meter on my Google Pixel, so I am not sure I trust it after reading this topic.

 

[killdozzer]

Cool. I don't think the addition of bass in music makes people turn down the volume level though, because as you already know A-weighting discounts a lot of the bass area as bass is less likely to cause hearing damage and less likely to sound loud for any given SPL vs higher frequencies.

You're right. I wanted to say we chose A to discount the bass impact.