It also depends on the source material. I turn the particular music up until the dynamics and balance between instruments feels correct and engaging. Too low becomes like muzak.
Turn down the Volume!
One topic that seems rarely discussed is volume. If you listen to mixing engineers, it’s their most feared aspect of how their work is measured, since it’s out of their control. This leads to things like loudness wars (assume the worst). As my system has improved, my main takeaway is I can be engaged with 60db peaks, where when I hear other systems you often have to turn it up to 90db peaks for it to sound decent. I’m pretty sure it all has to do with bass and room energy, but wonder if others have a similar experience. Side note that reviews or any subjective ‘better’ statements about gear rarely indicate how loud they are listening. since all we can perceive if volume it is puzzling. I will say if it sounds good with 110 db peaks then that is impressive.
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Protect your ears! Mine are 64 years old, and I am glad that I only have minor tinnitus and the typical high frequency loss above 12k. I’ve always avoided ear-damaging loud noise, including at concerts where I always wore ear plugs or improvised with kleenex. On the gun range, I’ve long used electronic muffs with foam plugs, double the protection. |
As @ghdprentice said, this can be really challenging with content with wide dynamic range - particularly classical. Fortunately, a good bit of my listening genres have pretty narrow dynamic ranges, so moderate volumes sound great. Occasionally on a great live album, I just have to be in attendance 😁 |
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- 87 posts total