What is your preferred volume level?

slowgeezr said:
This conversation has sparked me to download an app in order to start measuring at what levels I listen at. So, while listening to Coltrane at a satisfying level for me at the moment, the meter is displaying minimum values at 62dB, average at 68dB and peaks at 76 dB. Now, at a sound level I consider to be loud, but still enjoyable, the same corresponding values are 55 (must have started reading between tracks), 71 and 79dB.
Click to expand...

Apps on a smartphone may not be as accurate as a dedicated SPL meter.
 
Instead of the title "What is your preferred volume level?," should there have been a caveat along the lines of "If your wife would let you." Or, should the thread simply said how loud will your wife, mother, or landlord let you listen to music and for how long and how late? :)
 
mep said:
Instead of the title "What is your preferred volume level?," should there have been a caveat along the lines of "If your wife would let you." Or, should the thread simply said how loud will your wife, mother, or landlord let you listen to music and for how long and how late? :)
Click to expand...

Fortunately I am unrestrained by outside demands, it's just me and my ears -- and the dogs, but they don't have a say in it. ;)
 
Al M. said:
Apps on a smartphone may not be as accurate as a dedicated SPL meter.
Click to expand...

Unless you have access to a lab with calibrated equipment there is no way to determine the accuracy of any meter. What I did is adjust the app (Decibal 10th) on my iPhone to give the same reading as my Radio Shack digital SPL meter.
 
Gary it's like teeth, measured in cubic foot when wrong!��
 
One of the things that I have noticed about my listening habits is that somehow I end up with the volume setting on the pre at a higher setting than where I started out.

The default setting on the pre when the unit fires up is at 35 on the readout. Let's say that is 65 SPL. But if I come across a soft passage of classical or jazz I may crank it up a bit to hear some of the detail.

And there the volume setting stays for the duration of the listening session.
 
Every recording has an optimum playback level and ideally that is the level to hear each recording.
 
mep said:
Every recording has an optimum playback level and ideally that is the level to hear each recording.
Click to expand...
In Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" he suggests drawing a volume control with the appropriate setting on each album jacket ;)
 
rbbert said:
In Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" he suggests drawing a volume control with the appropriate setting on each album jacket ;)
Click to expand...


I have CDs that have average volume levels that vary from one disk to another by over 15 dB.

So maybe not an exact volume level, but a relative volume level seems reasonable.
 
BlueFox said:
Depends on the music. For string quartets, it ranges between high 60s to mid 70s. Generally, the recording it what determines that as I keep the pre at 45. For rock on Friday and Saturday night, the pre will be in the 50s and 60s with an SPL in the 80s or low 90s.

This is measured at my chair, which is around 8 feet from each speaker.
Click to expand...

GaryProtein said:
I have had string quartets perform in my living room. It's surprisingly loud -- 95+ dB at times.
Click to expand...

I am going to try playing my Shostakovich String Quartets at 90+ db this weekend. My expectation is it will sound awful, but I will try. :)
 
BlueFox said:
I am going to try playing my Shostakovich String Quartets at 90+ db this weekend. My expectation is it will sound awful, but I will try. :)
Click to expand...
Try first if you can live with or better, like, 85 dB peaks. It will also depend on how much hall reverberation is heard on the recording. If there is a lot, it may not sound great at high volume levels since it probably was recorded/mixed to sound at a distance where originally it would not sound that loud anyway.
 
mep said:
Every recording has an optimum playback level and ideally that is the level to hear each recording.
Click to expand...

I can buy that but how does one go about identifying that optimum playback level, is it noted on a jacket or noted by the composer somewhere ?
Since we all share a different designed listening space and our hearing, well its not the same the optimum playback level could very well be an individual preference based on our music taste and our room.
 
I view volume levels similar to the temperature of my shower. I adjust the water control until it feels right. I don't need a sticker on the shower wall to tell me the best setting. Basically, to each their own. Raise or lower the volume of your sound system until you feel warm and fuzzy. Seems pretty simple to me.
 
rbbert said:
In Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" he suggests drawing a volume control with the appropriate setting on each album jacket ;)
Click to expand...

That sounds practical. What happens when you switch phono stages or line stages and the gain changes?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top