volume vs presence

I just bought an analogue sound meter today. It looks like my from the needle moving around that lowest levels are around 80db and highest levels peaking around 90db. Average listing levels is probably around 85db.

Is this too loud?

I too would also say a change is in order.

Speakers make the biggest change in a system.

Getting different speakers however might not be your answer 100%.

If you have the BC DAC3... that isn't the problem. It delivers very good bass and highs, crisply and with impact. I haven't heard the BC amp or the ? pmc ? speakers... but those two seem to be delivering too much smooth for you.

I'm not too sure another uh, pmc (?) set of speakers up the ladder is the answer either.... unless they are quite dissimilar sounding. Especially in the tweeter area. Possessing more transparency and perhaps some better attack.

A system, is a 'system' after all. It requires matching or balancing of the system as a whole... or that' is my understanding.

Your room too is large enough to require some bigger speakers for sure.

just remember too... the amp (s) speaker pairing is important. Control matters in terms of presence and immediacy. that normally comes routinely from simple power being applied. More precise matching of amp to speaker can allow for lesser amounts of power being required, as with easy to drive speaks.

I would submit, even with speakers that possess greater transparency you will probably need to re-examine your system contents at large, possibly moving up the BC amp chain too... if you're a BC fan of course.

Cables too might well provide some resolution. and personally, I'd begin there. Try MIT Magnum series, or with lesser funds, SR Resolution Ref x2 active, or with still lesser bucks, a pair of Cardas Neutral Refs. The latter ICs might just give you another level of transparency and their highs are unveiled yet well mannerd.

Another pc too might be inorder as the DAC 3 responds very well to pc changes.

In fact, if you put a Shunyata Taipan helix or Python Helix onto that DAC without anyother cable changes, I assure you those highs will have a lot more shimmer and snap! Presence and transparency too will increase. A lot.

Try wires first... they're popular and if not the fix, you can flip them without a ton of trouble. People always seem to overlook wires.

These pc's will run you from about $375 - $650, or so... I've no idea how much the next level of speakers are you pointed to.

Good luck.

"to gain more presence and percussive attack."
I think the presence region is around 3,000 Hz. People here can correct me if this is wrong.Which is near the x-over region of your speaker Sometimes they put a dip in that region to cover up the blending of the drivers.
Full active speakers will have MUCH better percussive attack as the amp is directly coupled to the driver and no x-over to absorb energy. Have you tired an active PMC?

I just bought an analogue sound meter today. It looks like my from the needle moving around that lowest levels are around 80db and highest levels peaking around 90db. Average listing levels is probably around 85db.

Is this too loud?

No, not really. That is relative though...my wife thinks it's loud. It's pretty much how loud I enjoy music as well. When it goes to 100db and up that is ear-damaging territory, especially if it's staying in that region for very long.

Now that you have a sound meter you can check how your room might be affecting the sound. You'll have to get a test disc or some other device that generates a fixed frequency spectrum from low to high. Put your sound meter in the sweet spot where you listen...if possible fix it there on a tripod or some other fixed support. Go through the frequency range on your cd player and take note of the volume of each frequency from that point. You will note that there are many dips and peaks. This is entirely normal, but you can look for extremes where variances are more than, say, 6db. If you really want to get technical you can then plot out a graph of the room response and then repeat when you make changes to see how that response graph changes. In this way you might isolate specific problems...for instance, you may find that in order to listen to your midrange at a given volume that you are pushing the highs way louder than that. Or, as was suggested above, that there is a suckout in the vocal region that causes you to push the volume up higher (same idea).

This is just one approach, which does not invalidate the other theories of what might be going on, but it's a good start and very useful information in understanding your room interface (which is VERY much a part of your system).

You know..., I thought that we had two different questions here; but now I'm not so sure, I thought one was presence and the other was percussive attack. Presence sometimes means different things to different people. To me it means that the Vocalists or Instruments sound like they are in the room with you, or you are there with them. I believe this to be anywhere in the 2kHz-6kHz, but commonly referred to as the 2kHz-4kHz range as Cdc suggests.

I took Percussive Attack to mean; leading edge transient attack of the Music, such as; Rhythm Section, Bass Guitar, Kick Drum, and Lower Brass or generally speaking the Bass Region, 60Hz-250Hz. However, these Instruments' Harmonics, may also extend into the presence range.

So, I would like to ask the OP; Are you looking for "More Liveness (or presence)? or, Are you looking for a better rhythm section, with a more solid foundation and drive to the Music, that has more energy with greater Dynamics? or, Do You Want It All.....?

One thing I can tell you is that a Larger Speaker will definitely fill your room better, without destroying your hearing.

Rich