Have you noticed as your system improves?

You know you are there or almost 99% there when you don't need crank up the volume and you don't want to leave your listening chair when you start listening to your favorite CDs/Records. Yesterday, I just fired up my system and played Coleman Hawkins' Reevaluations: The Impulse Years. What a treat. This is a 2LP set well recorded and Hawk's play was sublime. An all star supporting cast has contributed to tracks on this set. Then I played Johnny Hodges' Rippin' & Runnin'. Rabbit kept me tied up to my chair until past midnight.Volume level was around 75-80 dB range.

My biggest fear is, my phono cartridge is very old and I am planning to change it. I am a bit worried that the new cartridge may take time to break-in and am not sure if it will sound as good as old one even after 200-300 hrs. 

So my advise to you is make sure you can get back to this position if further improvements/changes are not to your liking.

Ditto, ditto, ditto. You can now hear into the depths at lower volume. Surprising when you first notice this has happened. Then you grasp it's because the tech has become so much more refined.

Sitting here at 12:30am listening at about 45db so my neighbors don’t hate me and I can hear all the details of the songs I’m listening to.  Sometimes I even hear new things pop out of songs I’ve listened to many times listening at lower volumes late at night.  It is better around 60db-70db but I can’t turn it up that loud late at night.  I rarely listen louder than that as I listen more or less near field since I have a smaller listening space.   My speakers really open up around that loudness as well and I don’t find the need to turn it up to hear more.

For me it's just the opposite. My system sounds so good loud and most of the music I play now is so dynamic, the extra volume is tangible. My average is 90-100db. I am 60 and work in a plywood mill and have my hearing checked every 4 months and so far, so good.

Last night I went on an Allman Brothers jag.  Have seen them many times.  Starting out gently and choosing tracks to get progressively louder.  By the time I got to Live at the Fillmore I just wanted to really crank it.  Had been listening in the 75-80db range.  In Memory of Elizabeth Reed caused me give it more juice.  When I looked at the db meter on the iphone it was 85-95db.  That is exactly how I remember them playing it. Nice to have a full range system!  And I still haven't got any of the Pass amps out of class A operation.

To answer the OPs question, yes I enjoy listening softly as well.  Back in the day many receivers had "loudness" switches.  Now with an external x-over and tri-amped I can play that game for low level listening just better. 

Regards,

barts