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Does It have to be loud?

Are you also under the impression that when people (or manufacturers) demo their equipment, they maintain sound pressure levels between 90-100 Dba. In general this is done in rooms being too small, and therefore the room will heavily interact with the sound heard in that room. Often, when you ask to lower the volume, the actual result is better, and –most likely- provides you with the information you were looking for. So, my question here is, do you also prefer to listen in the 90-100 dba range? Or do you –like myself- like to listen in the 70-90 dba sound pressure range? Of course, I’m referring to sound pressure levels at the listening position, which –in my case- is about 4 meter away from the speaker. 

128x128han_n
erik_squires
15,680 posts
 
I think it's really important to listen to speakers like you'll use them. Some speakers are much better at low volumes, others at high volumes, and much of this has to do with their tuning. 

Also, room acoustics make a big difference here. Poor room acoustics will not let you turn the volume up. In the mid-treble the speakers will sound too bright or hard. In the bass, too boomy. The room itself will force you to keep the volume down. 

Fix your room acoustics, and most speakers will increase their playable range both up and down. 

Best,

E
han_n's avatar
han_n OP
104 posts
 
Another point is that I was talking about SPL at the listening position. (in my case 4.0 meter)
I now realize that some measure 107 dba at 2 feet. If we measure for example 105 dba at 0.5 meter, we may expect to see about 102 dba at 1.0 meter, or about 99dba at 2 meter, or about 96 dba at 4.0 meter. As I mentioned that I consider 95 dba to be an enjoyable maximum SPL, we are not too far apart after all..... ;)   
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Wasn't it Bosch who pointed out that LA women start losing parts when cranked up?
mceljo
1,348 posts
 
I did some measuring at my listening position today with some jazz music that is piano, drums, and a bass.  I turned it up loud by my standards using an FFT application on my iPhone measured peaks in the mid 80s and the average was probably the user 70s.
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