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How loud do you listen to your music?

Today I decided to take my RS SPL meter and see just how loud my system when I was listening to levels that I perceive to be pretty loud. To my surprise, the nominal SPL was only 70db with peaks going as high as 82db. I had expected the SPL reading to be much higher especially since I thought I had my system cranked up pretty loud. When I put the volume back to where I mainly listen, the SPL was only in the 50-60db range. For whatever reason, this number seemed too low but I do not really have a good sense for what decibels really mean in terms of how loud things are in the real world. Is 60db loud? Is 70db excessive?

So my question is, how loud do you normally listen to your music?
128x128tboooe
topperstopper
11 posts
 
When I listen to classical I crank it up spl at 90-110
large music room 22x32 Thiel CS-6.
mlsstl
694 posts
 
Are you using the A scale or the C to measure? On the C scale, I tend to listen in the mid 70's low to mid 80's (this will show lower on the A scale.) There is also the issue of whether you are using the peak mode or average.

The type of music you listen to also has a big influence on the volume.

I listen to a lot of unamplified folk, jazz and smaller classical works and try to match what "live" levels might be. That is going to be much softer than if you try to duplicate live levels from a heavy-metal rock concert.
calbrs03
184 posts
 
70 db is pretty loud, not extreme, but it's getting up there. 50-60 is much safer. Here's a pretty good site for comparisons:

www.abelard.org/hear/hear.htm#how-loud

Is your room treated? If not, you might want to think about bass traps and diffusers--they have been my obsession for the past few months, and they do help make lower decibles levels sound larger. The reason is fairly complex, at least I wouldn't be able to explain it coherently, but you can Google many website articles and discussions on the topic.
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Funny you post this as I checked my levels several times in past week, mine are around 85-95, if I am enjoying rock or pop music with a steady beat I listen a bit lower than Classical wich dips in and out of dynamics, I have been over 105db a few times but then I put down the beer.
pauly
456 posts
 
50 to 60db sounds right. Amplifiers generally only pump out fraction of a watt to generate music most of the time.

Makes one wonder why most posters seem to have this need for 100wpc (and higher) amps. Hearing issues I guess ... ;-)

Regards
Paul
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