When I'm tired I generally listen at lower volume. When I want to "live the music" then I turn up until I find the "sweet or bloom spot"..........where the music comes out of the speakers and forms a sound stage. Every system has a sweet spot. You go beyond the sweet spot and ugly things start showing up...............boom in some frequencies, harshness in the treble and at times your ears can be overwhelmed..........just too much info at too high a volume. Recording levels are all over the place..........generally more modern recording are mastered much "hotter" than older classics so the actual volume control is going to vary. :-)
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.