'Safe' volume level

[square.]

Play the speakers at your comfortable level.

With the speakers playing, adjust the volume of the headphones only (if you can) so that as you put them on and take them off there is no significant change in the perceived volume.

Do you still find discomfort with the headphones?

This is a good idea but sadly I wouldnt be able to control the volume of the headphones independently from my speakers

 

[RayDunzl]

This is a good idea but sadly I wouldnt be able to control the volume of the headphones independently from my speakers

Maybe you can estimate the similar volume setting.

Oh well.

 

[sarumbear]

I don’t want to scare you but according to CDC hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in the US. Almost twice as many people report hearing loss as report diabetes or cancer.

 

[square.]

I don’t want to scare you but according to CDC hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in the US. Almost twice as many people report hearing loss as report diabetes or cancer.

Dont worry, I've been quite sure for a while now that ever since I went there hearing in the right ear has lost about 10% details

thankfully though - it doesnt impact my daily life at all. Everything sounds normal in both ears, but its only when I use headphones or iems I have to adjust my centre image a bit to the right.

 

[square.]

Maybe you can estimate the similar volume setting.

Oh well.

I am reading sarumbears post about 'how loud is loud?' and its brought to my attention that one day our ears perceive 'x' volume as loud, but on another day they perceive the same 'x' volume as quiet or medium volume.

Tbh, I think even at 60-70db on my headphones i'll be fine, but I do prefer to listen at lower. Nevertheless i've had a fair few different thoughts on the topic, so I'm happy.

 

[sarumbear]

Dont worry, I've been quite sure for a while now that ever since I went there hearing in the right ear has lost about 10% details

thankfully though - it doesnt impact my daily life at all. Everything sounds normal in both ears, but its only when I use headphones or iems I have to adjust my centre image a bit to the right.

At your age (19?) 10% is a big loss. You may want to have your ears tested. The loss can be related to other issues.

 

[Soniclife]

Maybe I just have tinnitus from a rave I went to where I stood directly by the speaker for about 2 hours drunk out of my mind and thats impacting how my ears are reacting to volume lol

Almost all of us have done something similar, many of us many times, whilst it's not a good idea you will probably be ok as you are young, unless you notice issues in normal life. There are websites you can do hearing tests on, but get to the bottom of this volume thing first.

 

[DVDdoug]

Methinks you have no way to tell, accurately, the SPL at your ear!

Fair enough!

Right! The DAC knows NOTHING about the SPL level. That's why I said "not calibrated". Some amplifiers have more gain than others and different headphones/speakers are more sensitive than others and with speakers it depends on how far you are from the speakers, plus almost everything has a (analog) volume control.

With speakers you can use an SPL meter but they are not accurate with headphones. With headphones it's almost impossible.* You'd have to measure the voltage and make a calculation based on the headphone specs, but regular multimeters are designed for constant voltage so it only works with constant tones and you can't get an accurate/useful reading with music. With an oscilloscope you can measure the peaks but not the average or RMS so that's nor useful with music either. And then there's A-weighting which is standard with SPL meters but doesn't exist on multimeters or 'scopes.



* There are special calibrated headphone-measurement setups, and Amir can do it.

 

[square.]

At your age (19?) 10% is a big loss. You may want to have your ears tested. The loss can be related to other issues.

Yeah. I've bought earplugs for when I go to a live event again to ensure I dont get further damage. I suppose its why im even discussing 50db listening levels in the first place - out of fear for further damage?

I will consider getting my ears tested.

 

[ADU]

Retracted.

 

[VMAT4]

Roll off the treble a bit. At your age you probably can still hear some ear splitting frequencies. Think 15 kHz to 20 kHz, these will hurt your ears real quickly.