I don't know if I agree 100% w/ Bigjoe. There are guys who used to gun their bikes up and down our (deserted) quiet street at 2 in the AM when the nearby biker bar "The Bashful Bandit" closed. We (residents) cured that recently when the City of Tucson installed speed bumps deciding no doubt, it was cheaper than patrol cars being called all the time; now we can get some sleep!
As for audio, I honestly can't understand why anyone would want to play something at a volume in excess of what the source would produce in reality. (I realize this is a little more difficult to determine with rock performances, and you sort of have to decide where in the "stadium" you want to imagine yourself :~)
Nevertheless, I think dialing in the volume just right to obtain what you believe is the actual performance level, not too loud, not too soft, is an art, and requires some real listening skills.
I also want to say I think there is some merit to Sean and Alpha's comments RE: the quality of reproduction v. volume v. auditory damage, but only up to a point! I'm in my sixth decade, and I know I've lost my hi freq acuity, but I can still hear almost the whole Cardas sweep track if I turn the hi freq. portion way WAY up, ha Ha!
Which brings me, apropo of Alpha and Bigjoe's remarks, to share something I've read about, but never tried -- and which this thread has inspired me to do: apparently a certain amount of lost auditory acuity can be restored by wearing ear plugs for prolonged periods when hearing isn't important to you, ie not when driving and not when sleeping (don't want to miss that smoke alarm!) Supposedly, after doing this for even a few days, your hearing ability is very much improved. Which means that a part of the problem may have to do with overloaded neural circuits and not overloaded eardrums! Anyway, I'm going to try it, and report back.
.
As for audio, I honestly can't understand why anyone would want to play something at a volume in excess of what the source would produce in reality. (I realize this is a little more difficult to determine with rock performances, and you sort of have to decide where in the "stadium" you want to imagine yourself :~)
Nevertheless, I think dialing in the volume just right to obtain what you believe is the actual performance level, not too loud, not too soft, is an art, and requires some real listening skills.
I also want to say I think there is some merit to Sean and Alpha's comments RE: the quality of reproduction v. volume v. auditory damage, but only up to a point! I'm in my sixth decade, and I know I've lost my hi freq acuity, but I can still hear almost the whole Cardas sweep track if I turn the hi freq. portion way WAY up, ha Ha!
Which brings me, apropo of Alpha and Bigjoe's remarks, to share something I've read about, but never tried -- and which this thread has inspired me to do: apparently a certain amount of lost auditory acuity can be restored by wearing ear plugs for prolonged periods when hearing isn't important to you, ie not when driving and not when sleeping (don't want to miss that smoke alarm!) Supposedly, after doing this for even a few days, your hearing ability is very much improved. Which means that a part of the problem may have to do with overloaded neural circuits and not overloaded eardrums! Anyway, I'm going to try it, and report back.
.