What is the real dynamic range during your listening sessions? - test

[pma]

It might be interesting to know the real achievable dynamic range during our listening sessions, with volume set to "normal" listening level. For this reason, I have prepared a set of files, here is the link:

https://pmacura.cz/dynamicstest.zip

After you have the file downloaded and unzipped, please follow this procedure:

1. Set your volume (preamp volume knob, DAC output level etc.) to your Normal Listening Level with music

2. Play files A, B, C, D and find the one with lowest noise level that is still audible

3. Please fill in the poll with the A, B, C or D

 

[charleski]

Might want to note that, for people like me who always have ReplayGain engaged, we need to turn that off and then listen to some music and adjust the gain to match normal listening volume.

 

[abdo123]

Do this late at night. You will be surprised at the difference.

 

[pma]

Do this late at night. You will be surprised at the difference.

Headphones allowed, however should be mentioned in a post .

 

[pma]

I have voted. "B" at normal listening level (Carly Simon, No Secrets) with JBL 460NC headphones.
"C" with highest concentration, however unimportant extremely low level.

Note: I will disclose the rms level of the files (re dBFS) after the poll expires.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Might want to note that, for people like me who always have ReplayGain engaged, we need to turn that off and then listen to some music and adjust the gain to match normal listening volume.

Or plan B, RG scan as album and then manually edit album gain to 0.00 dB. (It's easy enough if you're coaxing out the advanced options in Foobar by holding down Shift upon right-clicking the selection.)

I made it to B. I have never been known for my deafening listening levels (I think last time I checked it was low-mid 60s on average), but it's very quiet here now. Looking at the RMS levels as spit out by the DR Meter plugin, I'm not surprised that I didn't make it any further. Having some intermediate steps would probably be a good idea.

 

[pma]

Thanks to those who are sending votes. I wonder how you could hear “D”. Was it audible at the listening position and at normal listening volume setting?? Or with the ear on tweeter at high volume setting? Was the “D” compared to noise without the signal??

 

[debord]

I voted C as the only one that I can clearly hear with my amp at noon. For D, its hard to tell if I hear something when I start playing it, but whenever the playback ends it becomes obvious that some sound was happening that is no longer. It's a bit odd and I can tell even without looking at when the playback ends.

 

[killdozzer]

With my average 76dB, I can still just barely make out C, but I still hear it.

 

[Jim Shaw]

Maybe buy one of these for around $25. They usually come calibrated when new.
Mine says my ambient sound is about 30 dBA. My house is deep in the woods with a cul d' sac road.

My maximum listening level, not very often, is about 96 dBA* at my favorite chair.
Voila! 96-30=66 dB dynamic range. With the HVAC running, knock off 6 dBA for a dynamic range of 60 dB.

Further, I am about 4 meters from my speakers. Using the rule of thumb of 6 dB lapse for each doubling of distance beyond one meter, I am asking them to play at 96+6+6=108 dBA measured at 1 meter from each speaker.

Further still, my speakers are rated at a sensitivity of 86 dB at 1 watt at 1 meter. Thus, my trusty Emotiva amp is having to produce about
120 watts at the peaks of music. That's 1 watt+(10x10)+some more=~120 watts, using the rule of thumb that 10 dB more requires 10 times the power.

Even further still, if I am listening at a more typical level of 80 dBA at my chair, the amp is loafing along at about 6 watts. Maybe that's why distortion at low amp output levels is just as important as at full power, eh?

*Before you get all frothy-at-the-mouth over 96 dBA, tests show that symphony orchestra conductors often hear an FFF passage at ~120 dBA. I'm yet to see my first conductor wearing hearing aids.

 

[killdozzer]

Maybe buy one of these for around $25. They usually come calibrated when new.
Mine says my ambient sound is about 30 dBA. My house is deep in the woods with a cul d' sac road.

My maximum listening level, not very often, is about 96 dBA at my favorite chair.
Voila! 96-30=66 dB dynamic range.

Further, I am about 4 meters from my speakers. Using the rule of thumb of 6 dB lapse for each doubling of distance beyond one meter, I am asking them to play at 96+6+6=108 dBA measured at 1 meter from each speaker.

Further still, my speakers are rated at a sensitivity of 86 dB at 1 watt at 1 meter. Thus, my trusty Emotiva amp is having to produce about
120 watts at the peaks of music. That's 86+(10x10)+some more=~120 watts, using the rule of thumb that 10 dB more requires 10 times the power.

Even further still, if I am listening at a more typical level of 80 dBA at my chair, the amp is loafing along at about 6 watts. Maybe that's why distortion at low amp output levels is just as important as at full power, eh?

 

[alex-z]

At normal listening volume (about 75dB?) with IEM's, I voted C.

When I max out my laptop volume, (about 90db?) I can faintly hear the noise in D.

If you want some more data, I can test tomorrow with open back headphones and speakers in a semi-treated.

 

[audiofooled]

I have voted. "B" at normal listening level (Carly Simon, No Secrets) with JBL 460NC headphones.
"C" with highest concentration, however unimportant extremely low level.

Note: I will disclose the rms level of the files (re dBFS) after the poll expires.

Exactly the same observation on headphones, so voted "B", and "C" being barely audible.

 

[AlfaNovember]

B is readily audible, C is lost to my presbycusis. Listening on my near-field desk rig, Roon via 6" 2-way monitors at 1.1 meter. My uncalibrated phone says the music is about 60 dB cresting to 75 with the same playback settings.

 

[pjug]

I voted B, this with speakers which is how I listen. But I also tried it with closed headphones and I could easily hear C, with volume not very loud.

Back to speakers, I can hear C if I turn it up a little louder. For very dynamic music I might have the volume turned up that high. So I could have convinced myself to vote C. I'd like to try it again some night after a good snowfall when all is very quiet here.

 

[Sokel]

Thanks to those who are sending votes. I wonder how you could hear “D”. Was it audible at the listening position and at normal listening volume setting?? Or with the ear on tweeter at high volume setting? Was the “D” compared to noise without the signal??

I voted C because it's clearly distinguishable but I could tell (not hear) D by it's absence each time I turned it off.
Weird?

 

[dasdoing]

we need to turn that off and then listen to some music and adjust the gain to match normal listening volume.

problem is, without normalization it will depend on the music

 

[DWPress]

C is clearly heard, normally my room is very quiet but with the winds howling outside after getting nearly 3 feet of snow the last couple of days my room measures 41dB at the moment. I could hear something happening with D but only when the track was stopped. I'll try again later when there's a lull in the storm.

edit: 16 feet to LP

 

[charleski]

conductor wearing hearing aids.

Hearing impairment in orchestral musicians - PubMed

Symphony orchestra musicians from The Royal Danish Theatre (15 females and 80 males) aged 22 to 64 years were audiologically examined to elucidate the presence and the frequency of noise-induced hearing loss among classical musicians. Compared to a reference material (ISO 7029) the median...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Just sayin’ …

 

[pma]

Thanks everyone who participated in the test. The test files are white noise with different level.

RMS noise level expressed in dBFS of individual files is:

A = -40dBFS (red)
B = -60dBFS (blue)
C = -80dBFS (green)
D = -100dBFS (cyan)