I noted the dynamic range and frequency range of a concert I attended last evening.

[Frank Dernie]

My wife sings in a choir which had a 30th anniversary concert last evening.
I didn’t record it but as a matter of interest ran the SPLnFFT app on my phone during the concert.

The dynamic range was from 47dB to 95dB unweighted.

I am always surprised by how little loud high frequency content there is with the vast bulk of the FFT showing the loudest parts of the music were all below 2kHz with obvious components above this but a level well down on the rest.

Getting 95dB in my room at my listening distance without it sounding loud because of distortion, as opposed to loud because it actually is at 95dB is something it took decades to achieve.

 

[itz_all_about_the_music]

My wife sings in a choir which had a 30th anniversary concert last evening.
I didn’t record it but as a matter of interest ran the SPLnFFT app on my phone during the concert.

The dynamic range was from 47dB to 95dB unweighted.

I am always surprised by how little loud high frequency content there is with the vast bulk of the FFT showing the loudest parts of the music were all below 2kHz with obvious components above this but a level well down on the rest.

Getting 95dB in my room at my listening distance without it sounding loud because of distortion, as opposed to loud because it actually is at 95dB is something it took decades to achieve.

So the noise floor at this show was 47 dBA ? Quiet venue indeed. Were people motionless, not breathing, not rustling their corduroys?

 

[Frank Dernie]

Not that low IME that was the quiet part of the music as well as audience noise between pieces. My listening room is about Edit, just measured it 32dB unweighted, I wasn’t home when I wrote this reply originally.

 

[abdo123]

that's fairly low imo, was it just the instrument and singers or was there electronic amplification and speakers involved?

 

[NiagaraPete]

Not that low IME that was the quiet part of the music as well as audience noise between pieces. My listening room is about 37dB

I just measured my room. 37db with air conditioning off.

 

[NiagaraPete]

I just measured my room. 37db with air conditioning off.

Funny as soon as my wife comes into the room the noise floor increases to 67db.

 

[Frank Dernie]

that's fairly low imo, was it just the instrument and singers or was there electronic amplification and speakers involved?

No just a choir in a church though there was organ too on two pieces.

 

[Tangband]

My wife sings in a choir which had a 30th anniversary concert last evening.
I didn’t record it but as a matter of interest ran the SPLnFFT app on my phone during the concert.

The dynamic range was from 47dB to 95dB unweighted.

I am always surprised by how little loud high frequency content there is with the vast bulk of the FFT showing the loudest parts of the music were all below 2kHz with obvious components above this but a level well down on the rest.

Getting 95dB in my room at my listening distance without it sounding loud because of distortion, as opposed to loud because it actually is at 95dB is something it took decades to achieve.

This is why active loudspeakers often have more power for the bass drivers than for the tweeters.
I did investigate this myself a couple a years ago checking the energy content of real music .
One exception is heavily compressed pop music that can have a lot of energy in the treble.

 

[Frank Dernie]

One exception is heavily compressed pop music that can have a lot of energy in the treble.

I can believe it but since I never listen to it I have never measured it.

 

[Blumlein 88]

In this context A weighting would make sense.

 

[solderdude]

When talking about noise levels the spectrum of the noise is important.

When the noise is mainly well below 100Hz it may not be very audible but will register fairly high with C or Z weighting but much lower with A weighting (which makes sense for background noise but not high level noise)

 

[pma]

No just a choir in a church though there was organ too on two pieces.

Organ music can get pretty high in frequency depending on pipes length of the organ, please see my recording from the Church of Our Lady before Týn in Prague

Týnský chrám - varhany

The page is in Czech only, but the music and spectra speak in universal language.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Organ music can get pretty high in frequency depending on pipes length of the organ, please see my recording from the Church of Our Lady before Týn in Prague

Týnský chrám - varhany

The page is in Czech only, but the music and spectra speak in universal language.

Indeed it can, but this was a choral concert with organ accompaniment in a couple of pieces.

The organ has a greater extension in both bass and treble than other instruments.

 

[xaviescacs]

This is interesting. Thanks for posting.

A bit off-topic. Some weeks ago I attended Mahler's second and always get surprised by how loud percussion bass frequencies sound. At the same time, the reverberation time is very short in a concert hall, which I guess is simply not possible (almost impossible?) to achieve in a small room. I also guess that makes the SPL peak to appear less than what is actually is. Perhaps bass in an average home room will never be good, realistic, and attempting this is chasing ghosts. At home you have good sound but if you want to hear the real one go to a concert.

 

[Andysu]

30dBA at night and often drops below on the digital spl metre . analogue spl only goes to 50dB .

 

[Andysu]

My wife sings in a choir which had a 30th anniversary concert last evening.
I didn’t record it but as a matter of interest ran the SPLnFFT app on my phone during the concert.

The dynamic range was from 47dB to 95dB unweighted.

I am always surprised by how little loud high frequency content there is with the vast bulk of the FFT showing the loudest parts of the music were all below 2kHz with obvious components above this but a level well down on the rest.

Getting 95dB in my room at my listening distance without it sounding loud because of distortion, as opposed to loud because it actually is at 95dB is something it took decades to achieve.

so was the phone vertical or horizontal ?

 

[pma]

This is interesting. Thanks for posting.

A bit off-topic. Some weeks ago I attended Mahler's second and always get surprised by how loud percussion bass frequencies sound. At the same time, the reverberation time is very short in a concert hall, which I guess is simply not possible (almost impossible?) to achieve in a small room. I also guess that makes the SPL peak to appear less than what is actually is. Perhaps bass in an average home room will never be good, realistic, and attempting this is chasing ghosts. At home you have good sound but if you want to hear the real one go to a concert.

It is impossible to get even slightly close to concert hall sound and acoustics, in home audio conditions. Those who say something else do not have experience with concert halls and philharmonic orchestra, or church acoustics.

 

[xaviescacs]

Those who say something else do not have experience with concert halls and philharmonic orchestra, or church acoustics.

I have mixed feelings actually, because it's true that with good monitors, mids and treble detail and clarity can be better at home sometimes, it's more controlled. Different experiences really.

With "plugged" music, there is no real reference, it's always a speaker you hear, whether at home or at a concert, so it's a different topic.

 

[pma]

Different experiences really.

Different. That’s correct .

 

[Frank Dernie]

It is impossible to get even slightly close to concert hall sound and acoustics, in home audio conditions. Those who say something else do not have experience with concert halls and philharmonic orchestra, or church acoustics.

I have several systems here.
The one that most closely reproduces the church/concert hall experience is 109dB/watt horns with a 100wpc amplifier. It is pretty convincing.

My 91dB/watt speakers with 1000 wpc gets fairly close but sounds more strained though it was (much) more expensive.

None of my other kit gets anywhere close.