Are you operating in the correct SPL window for high-fidelity listening?

The SPL level for best listening is an area I have been exploring lately, and have no definitive answer. I can only comment on what I have observed.

The first thing I will note is that reader reports of what level they listen at are not a very good reference point. I say this since there is no real mention of whether that is with a calibrated SPL meter and where it was placed. Also seldom a mention of what measurement curve is used for the report. Have to assume that most are using dbA unless otherwise specified.

I am in an apartment so tend to pay more attention to it than many. Recently had a neighbor that was very sensitive to certain frequencies which made it a real exercise in trying to control volume. My environment is also terrible to use as a reference since the noise floor tends to be about 30 dbA. At times up to 40 dbA.

I have been changing some components so have been tracking that in relation to how the music sounds to me at different levels. In general quick usage I am using the NIOSH SPL app on an iPhone with the built in mic set to dbA. I have also tried dbC and find that if I feel the sound is well balanced at any level, the difference is negligible (1-2 db). If the music sounds unbalanced to me the difference can be 3-5 db between the 2 calibrations. I have also noticed a difference that I can only describe subjectively. If the overall sound to me is congested the SPL will read quite a bit higher - I have to push closer to 90 dbA to enjoy the presentation. I feel that this is most likely too much emphasis across a mid range frequency spread with poor decay, resonance and harmonics in that spread. Could also be poor decay, resonance and harmonics in the lower frequency; I haven’t done frequency analysis/waterfalls to isolate this. When I am most happy with the music presentation I find that I can listen and enjoy the music at 70 dbA, and that 80 dbA is life like enough for me. So what is the music presentation that I enjoy? A perception of width and depth to the sound stage. That any singer, singing  is in front of the rest of the sounds presented. That drums and percussive instruments are behind the other sounds presented. Natural sound of individual instruments is important, but to me that matters less than the sound stage balance. Obviously the presentation that I like is not the same with every composition. Singer songwriter, jazz ensemble, funk, hard rock, classic rock, big band, chamber music, full orchestra all have different depths and spreads, but as long as the sound stage is balanced I can enjoy the composition.

I do have a calibrated mic and REW to refine my sound analysis and to double check the relative readings that I get with the phone app, but haven’t done that yet. Need to have the wife out for a while to set up and do that properly. In conclusion, to me 70-80 dbA with the phone app is plenty even with a high noise floor. I might even enjoy it at lower volume if the noise floor were lower.

I am not that Scientific about it.  In my 15X19 room, as the SPL goes up, the room eventually takes over and it's not good at all.  So I like it loud enough to hear everything I want without having the room affect it.

The spl meter is only a reference and scientific measurements have variability.wnen you find your reference using it the same way standard to avoid variability that's  nirvana. To cut room reflections dsp is very effective in finding interfearances.enjoy the research and experienc

Probably not - I occasionally look at a db meter on my iPhone. It’s more as a check to make sure it’s not too loud for ,y neighbors. It often reads 75-85db but I am sure there is an opportunity for user error in measurement.  

@budjoe Good that someone else pays attention to listening room noise floors, I rarely observe anyone paying attention to this. There are means to lowering listening room noise floors, attending to this means lower volume levels required to hear lower level details, I suspect this why many report more satisfying listening sessions at night when external ambient noise levels lower, this rather than the cleaner AC reasoning.