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

[Snoochers]

Instruct wife to return to the kitchen

I spend more time in the kitchen than she does !

 

[pseudoid]

Have her make you a sandwich when you know a particularly loud passage is coming up.

Are you referring to that 2-word colloquialism defined as:
"An enabler who promotes your 'stoner alcoholism' by bringing you 'beer' which you are too messed up to retrieve on your own."
If so, it will cause a bigger rift in the house by at least +12dB.
Tsk, tsk!

 

[Godataloss]

I spend more time in the kitchen than she does !

Me too, and she bitches about me turning movies up too. I do the up 2 db then down 1 db to placate her.

 

[Pier75]

I spend more time in the kitchen than she does !

Then maybe put the home theater equipment in the kitchen?

 

[rgpit]

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

If that's your wife, throw out the home theater!

 

[Pier75]

Are you referring to that 2-word colloquialism defined as:
"An enabler who promotes your 'stoner alcoholism' by bringing you 'beer' which you are too messed up to retrieve on your own."
If so, it will cause a bigger rift in the house by at least +12dB.
Tsk, tsk!

Well you know a relationship is all about giving and taking... give me another beer and don't forget to take the empty bottle to the kitchen. The giving and taking is what brings balance and warmth to a relationship, and the universe. Not sure about the stoner part, I don't do drugs since poking smot bauses craindamage...

 

[Pier75]

Me too, and she bitches about me turning movies up too. I do the up 2 db then down 1 db to placate her.

LOL, I have used that trick too in the past!

 

[antcollinet]

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

Through the empty vacuum of space.

That's pretty damn loud.

 

[pseudoid]

In all seriousness. Would using sound absorbing panels w/higher WAF (aka pleasing to the eye) index than trying to achieve the 5dB you are having difficulties meeting even w/a wallop of suggestions...?

 

[Pdxwayne]

After movie started, once your wife get used to the volume, slowly turn up the volume 1db by 1db.....She might not even notice once she slowly get used to louder volume.

 

[Newman]

…unless the volume pops up on the screen every time you change it!

 

[Dj7675]

Just a couple of thoughts from going through this before as well..
-Measure with REW or you can even use the results of the audyssey app/dirac results to know if there is something that could be fixed with some eq... it is hard to know for sure without some measurements
-Is it the high frequencies or the bass that she doesn't like. Some people are more sensitive in the 1-5K area it seems
-If she just needs it turned down a bit and doesn't have an issue with bass (some people don't like too much bass too!), then you need to compensate for the loss of bass at lower volumes. Listen at her volume and add 2-6dB of bass below 125hz depending on how low the volume it is she likes. When listening at low volume it can be very unsatisfying until some bass is restored. With bass restored it can still sound pretty good.
-If from your measurements it is too flat or boosted in the 1-5K range it may help to EQ that down to make it flatter or slightly descending in slope if it isn't already..

 

[Fahzz]

I see hearing aids in your future.

 

[Pier75]

Senhieser has the RS headsets, they are wireless (not bluetooth) and if you have two, you and your wife could have the same audio but at a sound level of your own choosing. Not sure if they still have it, but they also had a surround version with multiple speakers in them. Maybe that would be something to investigate? Probably bluetooth could also work and other brands may also have options for a silent disco/home theater solution.
If not then maybe you should consider replacing the wife?

 

[Balle Clorin]

I think you are the problem, you probably have hearing damage/loss. Turn it down to save your ears…

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

Home cinema didn’t last too long here due to WAF. In defence of Ann she is usually very tolerant of my take on sound reproduction and volume. Had one of the rear speakers just behind her left ear, watching an action movie and a gun was fired into her left ear never seen her move as fast. She made a suggestion putting it politely we should move back to stereo.

 

[pseudoid]

we should move back to stereo

I would like to congratulate Ann! She may be the wiser one in that household.
Now, you will have (A)MORE money to spend on just 2 speakers, plus ^hardware, and (B)MORE time to enjoy the music!
It's all good.... even for your french bulldog's ears...

 

[sarumbear]

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?

Listen to your wife and save your hearing.

How loud is loud, how to measure it? Is THX calibration bad for your health?

I am an electroacoustics engineer. We are a rare breed. When I got my M.Sc. my class of six were the only ones in UK. I am now retired from engineering and audio is my hobby. You can find more about me on the about page on my profile. The behaviour of the sound (acoustics) and how we hear it...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Suffolkhifinut]

I would like to congratulate Ann! She may be the wiser one in that household.
Now, you will have (A)MORE money to spend on just 2 speakers, plus ^hardware, and (B)MORE time to enjoy the music!
It's all good.... even for your french bulldog's ears...

Thanks and Merry Christmas, she is definitely the one with the sensible head and a lot better looking to boot. My functions in our family life are 1. Walking Boris, 2. Carrying the heavy shopping, 3. Spending money on HiFi.
Speaking of which should I trade in my Kudos X1s for bigger ones? it is Christmas!
Can’t play Rory Block anymore Boris joins in just with her.

 

[dasdoing]

look up "wearable speaker". since you only need a little boost sound will probably still emerge from far