Wife finds theatre too loud. Bumming me out! How can I make it 5db quieter for only her?

[Snoochers]

I have a home theatre and wife and I constantly fight on sound level. I spent a lot of time and money in there and I really want to feel it. I should add that I actually don’t want to listen to it super loud or anything. I’m probably below average even!

5db is making all the difference. It’s perfect for her but too quiet for me, and 5db more is perfect for me but too loud for her.

How can we reduce it by 5db just for her? I was thinking high end ear plugs but they tend to reduce sound by like 15db.

Any ideas?

 

[Matias]

Cheap, transparent, high fidelity ear plugs.

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER20XS-CCC-C-High-Fidelity-Clamshell/dp/B00RM6Q3BA/?th=1

 

[Snoochers]

Cheap, transparent, high fidelity ear plugs.

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER20XS-CCC-C-High-Fidelity-Clamshell/dp/B00RM6Q3BA/?th=1

Thanks, but those are like -25db

 

[Matias]

Yes, I guess you would need to modify one by drilling a hole to increase the port diameter...

 

[Snoochers]

Yes, I guess you would need to modify one by drilling a hole to increase the port diameter...

Could really mess with the whole frwuenxhnresponse

 

[Patrick1958]

Buy her headphones?

 

[Snoochers]

Buy her headphones?

Yes maybe, though it’s a bit silly to have headphones in a 9.2.6 theatre and I also suspect the competing sounds would lead to undesirable effects

 

[AdamG]

You can try cotton balls. We use them at movie theaters that play sound too loud for us. You can trim the size of the cotton ball to suit. Best cheap suggestion that you can experiment with.

 

[Snoochers]

Buy her headphones?

Yes maybe, though it’s a bit silly to have headphones in a 9.2.6 theatre and I also suspect the competing sounds would lead to

You can try cotton balls. We use them at movie theaters that play sound too loud for us. You can trim the size of the cotton ball to suit. Best cheap suggestion that you can experiment with.

yes that sounds reasonable though I suspect the frequency response impact isn’t well researched lol

 

[spacevector]

May be you can try an ear warmer like this one:

 

[digitalfrost]

Some dynamic compression or simply a limiter could achieve that. The question is where this could be inserted into the system. If your source is a PC it should be easy. e: Also, looking at the rest of this thread us germans are efficient and have no sense of humor.

 

[Snoochers]

May be you can try an ear warmer like this one:
View attachment 160210

Hmmmmm

 

[Zim]

https://www.minuendo.com/adjustable-earplugs

Adjustable dB

 

[Tatteredmidnight]

Wife > home theater, turn down the volume and make it so she wants to enjoy time in there with you. Alternately, sit 5db closer to the speakers than her

 

[pozz]

Try balance control and timing. Try to change the level on what's become "her side" of the theatre and then compensate with a delay to make the soundstage shift back.

 

[Jdunk54nl]

Have her more off axis to the speakers than you. That should cut the db's.

 

[outlookrt]

Maybe a compromise can be achieved by selective EQing a certain FR region? We know that a ‘room curve’ is ultimately a subjective area of preference. Maybe she’s more sensitive to the presence region of the frequency range? A few db dip there may help while keeping the bass and highs in tact, which might be what you enjoy about the higher vol? I’m speculating massively or course… but just some food for thought. I know my missus seems a touch more sensitive to ‘forward’ speakers, with previous speakers I’ve owned, if she often asked me to turn music down that it thought was playing at a ‘normal level’ I’d measure the response and sure enough a broad pushed up response centred around 1k
-2k was there… so who knows… maybe she’s on to something and reacting to something ‘off’ in your setup? Believe it or not wives can be right sometimes…

 

[pozz]

Have her more off axis to the speakers than you. That should cut the db's.

Not one for romance?

 

[jjk1]

Turn it down and deal with it. It could be worse. My wife is cant hear and and cranks the volume so loud you can hear it on the moon

 

[Blumlein 88]

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More stylish plugs and are meant to only slightly reduce the sound. I've not tried them, but they look a little different.