My preamp has zero adjustments for anything although I turn my sub up and down in a small range from time to time and that's all it needs. I assume people listen to different levels depending on how they feel (late at night I can easily enjoy listening at lower levels than during the day, regardless of ambient sound)...I simply use the "it feels too loud" adjustment criteria regardless of the content...I listen to a lot of jazz piano trio stuff these days and back the level off when the piano feels unnatural or like its poking me in the brain. When I noodle on my electric guitars (along with a rhythm track of some sort) I think I must play too loud all the time partly due to the "amp grease content factor", but it feels good so I don't stop.
How loud is loud?
Seems like a rhetorical question, but I'm curious what other folks think is "ok, now that's loud"
For me, if something's hitting 100dB as measured from where I'm seated while listening, and not just for a brief moments, but with some regularity, that's loud.
I used to listen at higher average volume than I do these days. Typically, I'm finding that at the right volume, the recording is more nuanced then when it's running full throttle.
If I'm not mistaken, the late Peter Walker observed that every recording has it's one correct or optimum playback level. I think generally he was correct, though once we are willing to forge optimum there's a range of acceptable.
For me, if something's hitting 100dB as measured from where I'm seated while listening, and not just for a brief moments, but with some regularity, that's loud.
I used to listen at higher average volume than I do these days. Typically, I'm finding that at the right volume, the recording is more nuanced then when it's running full throttle.
If I'm not mistaken, the late Peter Walker observed that every recording has it's one correct or optimum playback level. I think generally he was correct, though once we are willing to forge optimum there's a range of acceptable.