Grand Piano = 110 db SPL, Drum Set = 115 db SPL...if you like live music or have ever played any instruments then you will know that music is loud because instruments are intended to be heard by others.
Furthermore your ear can handle from 120 db SPL to 0 db SPL (of course 120 db should be transients and never continuous) . Therefore if you want to benefit from the dynamic range inherent in real live music on your playback then you need a system capable of playing around 105 db spl continuous (with 10 db headroom) at your listening position. If this is 3 meters back then you need about 115 db SPL continuous (125 if you include peaks) from the speaker itself.
This will allow you to play any music at realistic levels. Of course you will rarely (if ever) listen to much above 95 db SPL continuous, however, transients can easily go much higher and it is the dynamic contrast which is partially what makes music lively and exciting. Rock concerts are at 105 db SPL and with a good stage system and can actually sound extremely good.
Depending on where you live the noise floor will usually be somewhere around 30 db SPL.
If you play music at 80 db SPL then 80 less 30 is 50 db spl and you have limited the dynamic range of what you hear to 50 db SPL. This is probably ok for rock or pop or small ensemble music but will almost certainly limit you in classical music with full orchestra where you get huge dynamic range in the music.
Greater dynamic range will allow you to hear more detail in the music. Natural uncompressed music rarely sounds loud or fatiguing. Stereos mainly sound loud because of distortion. The perception of "loud" is linked to distortion. Music at 80 db SPL with distortion will sound louder than music at 95 db SPL with no distortion.
At $30 K you may be able to find something that can play with close to the full range dynamics of real live music without much distortion. Likely you will want to keep turning it up if there is no distortion.
Furthermore your ear can handle from 120 db SPL to 0 db SPL (of course 120 db should be transients and never continuous) . Therefore if you want to benefit from the dynamic range inherent in real live music on your playback then you need a system capable of playing around 105 db spl continuous (with 10 db headroom) at your listening position. If this is 3 meters back then you need about 115 db SPL continuous (125 if you include peaks) from the speaker itself.
This will allow you to play any music at realistic levels. Of course you will rarely (if ever) listen to much above 95 db SPL continuous, however, transients can easily go much higher and it is the dynamic contrast which is partially what makes music lively and exciting. Rock concerts are at 105 db SPL and with a good stage system and can actually sound extremely good.
Depending on where you live the noise floor will usually be somewhere around 30 db SPL.
If you play music at 80 db SPL then 80 less 30 is 50 db spl and you have limited the dynamic range of what you hear to 50 db SPL. This is probably ok for rock or pop or small ensemble music but will almost certainly limit you in classical music with full orchestra where you get huge dynamic range in the music.
Greater dynamic range will allow you to hear more detail in the music. Natural uncompressed music rarely sounds loud or fatiguing. Stereos mainly sound loud because of distortion. The perception of "loud" is linked to distortion. Music at 80 db SPL with distortion will sound louder than music at 95 db SPL with no distortion.
At $30 K you may be able to find something that can play with close to the full range dynamics of real live music without much distortion. Likely you will want to keep turning it up if there is no distortion.