Is it a good sign when...

[PenguinMusic]

... I want to increase the volume ?

Of course that is not because I want to hear something
It is because I would like to enjoy the music even more... and it seems to me that the volume can be increased with no earing damage caused by some bad "sound reproduction"...

If the question is stupid, please just forgive the noob I am :-(

Regards.

 

[RayDunzl]

I figure we all "crank it up" sometimes...

 

[PenguinMusic]

Oh... YEAH !

 

[DonH56]

You should be cautious. A better system can generally produce higher SPL without distortion so there are fewer cues to tell us when we might be overdoing it and damaging our hearing. I used to love cranking it up and waiting for my friends to turn and say how great it sounded only to realize they couldn't hear themselves talk. Age and tinnitus has largely restrained that impulse now.

 

[PenguinMusic]

Hi,

That is for sure...

May I assume from what you're writing that it is indeed a good sign because it would mean that the sound is better so it can be cranked up because a "good sound" is still "hearable" at high volumes, when a "bad sound" would just be "shrilling" and irritating at the same volumes ?

 

[MRC01]

My general rule: it's better to feel the urge to turn it up, than to turn it down. Set a volume level that is just shy of what is subjectively fully satisfying. You should feel the urge (however small) to turn it up more. But don't indulge it. If you feel the urge to turn it down, however small that urge is, or if the volume level feels completely satisfying, then it's too loud.

Another test: Pause or stop the music, then get a refreshing beverage, or otherwise spend 5 minutes in a quiet environment. Then return and resume the music without changing the volume. Does it sound "too loud"? If so, then it also was before, and your ears adjusted. Our hearing has biological volume compression so the ideal volume for hearing all the fine resolution in the music is below levels that trigger these responses.

Any system, no matter how good, becomes irritating or uncomfortable when too loud. It's just that for better systems, that level is louder than it is for others. So we should be aware and compensate for that.

 

[LightninBoy]

It is a good sign. Live music is loud. Turn it up.

Decibals are decibals though - so crystal clear decibals will injure your ears as much as distorted ones.