Acoustat6, yes, sometimes I do. Most music does not demand it but some does: The Verdi Requiem, on the Soria box set (RCA) is a good example of vinyl being put the limits, and stereos too. If you play the quiet spots at the correct volume, the peaks will be at 115db.
So- to answer another question- 115 db peaks occur front row center, equivalent to where the microphones are usually placed. When you are in the orchestra, you don't get the same volume exposure that the audience does unless you are in the percussion section.
Some of the class D amps do not have feedback as well as some transistor amps as I have mentioned. Some of the class D processes allow for time manipulation, which is a fancy way of saying that they have a way around this issue. I don't doubt that this may be part of why class D amps are challenging the traditional transistor art.
However the artifacts I am talking about also occur at much lower levels. BTW, it is odd ordered harmonics that allow SETs to have the 'amazing dynamics' that are so often associated with them despite their low power levels. When an SET is at low power, it makes no odd orders at all, but when you push it over about 50% of full power or so, they begin to show up. Since it is the transients that take all the power, that is where the loudness cues are now occurring too. As a result, an SET with low power might seem to play so loud that 85 or 90db seems like a lot. This is the effect of artificial enhancement of the natural loudness cues.
As a result I am careful about using the word 'dynamics' because so often when I hear audiophiles use the term they are really talking about 'distortion'.
If you can't be in the room with musical peaks at 100 db (if its uncomfortable or sounds too loud), then its very likely that the odd orders are being enhanced.
