How loud are you typically listening?

Dear friends : The most critical and precious audio instrument in our room/system are each one of us the whole ears that we need/have to take care always because damages on it are irreversible.

Normally I listen at 74db-83db and only when I'm testing/evaluating/comparing some audio items I listen briefly at over 90db with peaks at over 100db and in those tests I listen after the high SPL at low SPL around 62db-70db.

High constant SPL always makes and damages the ears sensitivity and even not so high SPL with a system with high distortions levels can do the same with out we can be aware: here the culprit are those high distortions levels more than the SPL.

So I think that we have try to put at minimum any kind of developed distortions in each one of us room/system.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

I second millercarbon’s point. “Supertramp loud” is the level where it sounds the best. 

For easy listening night 70-75 db 
R&R 95-100 peaks  for short periods, rock on average 85-90 db 
the better the room is treated less reflections ,the better the focus 
also ,and better bass balanced in a room takes some work because of nulls. I use monitors with subs ,then usb Mike and bass programs truly work ,has bass traps, 1st reflection ,rugs and 
ceiling treatment all add to the accuracy ,for hard rooms can be a mess with too many reflections ,especially glass drapes,rubs,plants all help. You can over damp a room also if it is lifeless many hours to get tuned right especially if you need more then a 2 seat soundstage area.

@bob540 
My wife and son love all the Marvel comic book movies and go whenever they get the chance.  I grudgingly agreed to go (prior to covid) and I am still happy I brought "yellow squishes" ear protection with me.
I couldn't even take the coming attractions, blocked up them ear canals right away with my yellow buddies.  And I bring them to all concerts as well.  
Here is an interesting $$$ alternative to squishes:
https://www.earasers.net/collections/musicians-hifi-earplugs

Regards,
barts

I never checked the sound pressure level before — just set volume at comfortable level.  I just downloaded a SPL app to check it.  My ambient room noise level is around 17dB.

I am a quieter listener unless I am using headphones.  At night, I listen around 25-30 dB . . there is a local oldies station that I enjoy.  At mid-day now, I prefer 50-60 dB, with some peaks up to 70 dB.   75 dB and higher is too loud for me unless I am in another room or having a party.   I don’t know how people manage 90 dB for any length of time — sounds offensive to me.  My usual listening position is about 12 feet away from the main speakers.

At a cinema, I often think the sound is too loud, especially the music.  Would prefer to hear actors’ speech without all the loud music. 

@mtbiker29 

Thanks for the Niosh app heads up.  I just put it on my iphone and with no calibration turned it on.  My music room ambient level is 18.5 db(A).
I know the room is very quiet (tons of sound proofing) but I didn't expect it to be that quiet.  At that low a level just a slight burble in my stomach made it jump up to ~26 db(A).  The new iphones are certainly sensitive,
who knows about the accuracy though. 

OP,
Listened to Santana Abraxsas: "Singing Beasts, Crying Winds" and then into "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" and played at my normal loud level for rock and the app showed mostly bouncing in the high 70s and peaked at nearly 90.  Seemed about right. 

Regards,
barts
  

65 to 75 dB is considered normal to high level for me.  I do find myself listening more often now at mid 50's dB.

I have tinnitus for about 15 years.   It stays constant most of time, but it does flare up from time to time.   It was very scary in the early years during flare ups, but they all eventually came back down to normal level.    Nowadays I have faith that it will eventually go back down.

Pretty rare for me to really blast it.

I have two sets of speakers.  Klipsch Heresy IIs and Paradigm Studio 70s, A/B to same integrated amp.

I would guess usually less than 80 dB 98% of the time.

If we are moving around the first floor doing stuff outside the  living room or TV room, I might crank it up a bit more. 

Depends on what genre of music. Acoustic guitar 65 to 70. Jazz 70ish. Steely Dan 75 to 85. AC/DC 90+. 

I try to keep it under 80 db on average to avoid hearing loss. 

I have not used the Radioshack SPL meter for more than 10 years although I still have it somewhere in the house. The last I did the measurements, it was in the range of 65-75dB average, 80-95dB for brief periods when I felt like turning it up.

These days my listening habits have changed. I now listen at much lower volumes, and I can do this all day long. Typically 50-65dB with peaks hitting 75dB. Apart from getting older where loud music doesn’t quite excite me anymore, I partly attribute the lower level listening to my improved system as well. It now sounds crystal clear with all the details coming through even at low to moderate levels. In the past, I have to turn up the volume to hear the detail which either got lost in the background or wasn’t reproduced by the gear / speakers. The sound is usually slightly muffled or the clarity is not very good when the volume is low with the substandard gear.

60db in the 13' x 13' room I use is plenty. that's about No4 on the dial. Any more than about 70db and you can feel the base through the sofa :^)

+1 arcticdeth
And thank you spinal tap.

Looks like comfortably loud is about 74.  But, I usually have it around 67.  I'll sometimes turn it up for a song or two, but only to around 80... 

Normal, concentrating listening is in the mid 70s to low 80s. Occasionally louder, often quieter if I'm multitasking.

"What?!  I can't read you!  My eyeballs are vibrating!" *L*

Loud enough on occasion and selection, but I'll listen to Spotify while working at the 'puter.  Then it's just 'motivational levels' on a smaller system.
It's when the mains are up, things get 'noisy' *G*

In my 20`s 1968 I would make sure I was very very high by the time I got to the concerts  and would get a seat very close to the speaker columns.  After the concerts my ears would be ringing for a week, in the car blasting music, at home getting very very high blasting away at the time I was in to the Bose 901`s series 2`s the louder you crank the better they sound.  At 29 yrs. of age I began to ask people to repeat there statement. I realize my ears were damaged common sense which I didn`t have should have told me to turn down. By my 54th birthday I had serious hearing problems I then decided I needed to turn down I`m now 75yrs young and my listening levels are 9-10. You guys that`s constantly cranking beware you are hurting self you`ll find that out in the later years.  

Well, it depends on how much I've had to drink.....and the genre!  

Lately I’ve been listening to jazz as I’ve been working on the new to me house, so it’s been 80+.  When I’m sitting listening, it’s normally 65-75db.

JD

70’s to maybe 85dB at the top end, very rarely over 90 though. 

Mid 60's to low 70's

Depends on mood and material.... whisper soft sessions (20-30dB average volume) in the late night / early hours are my favorite. I do get up at 3-4AM from time to time for these sessions.
During daytime, about 50dB average volumes on the average for the past 20 years.My system now allows to rock out yours truly. Mahler symphonies with 110dB peaks, or Prodigy and modern electronic music at volume where the air and reality seems to melt and your body feels as if about to go into shock (about 100dB sustained with 120+dB peaks). And include the subsonic region at that, in my room it's strong down to 14Hz, but there is action down to 11Hz. This is beyond addictive. I never had a chemical addiction, but electronic music like this is beyond addictive, I am SOOOO glad I did not have this sound when I was younger, would have been hopelessly addicted and wasted. Nowdays, I like to go through a couple hours of sessions like that, maybe twice a week, and then abstain for a week or two or three. Curiously, it does not hurt the ears, and no ringing next day. The distortion is vanishingly low, the ears do not signal that it's too much. However the subsonic bass takes a very high toll on the body, it feels next day as if I was in a car crash. (Audio Heavens bless my good neighbors... ; )

Tip: Since high frequencies are more harmful to hearing than low ones, I found out that making my subs more prominent in my system helps in giving me a fuller sound.

I don’t own an SPL meter. I just adjust the volume to whatever is comfortable and right for the kind of music I’m playing. 

Some of the newest sound level charts say below 70 db is the best way to avoid hearing damage. But there are many that will say 75 db, and some will even say up to 80 db is safe for up to 8 hrs. I figure 75 db is a good medium for safe hearing and yet enjoying a pretty full sound. 

50 to 65 ---which is really quiet compared to most!
But doesn't it depend on the ambient noise in the room?  E.g., I most likely listen louder in the car because the noise floor is much higher (but honestly I've never measured the sound level while driving :-)).

The ambient noise level in my room is around 25-30 according to my phone...my handheld meter shows 30-31 (but that is because it doesn't go below 30).  Above 30 my phone and handheld meter agree within 1-2 dbl so I'm inclined to believe they are both reasonably accurate.

I'm glad this came up.  I also had way too much fun with concerts and race cars when younger, so some tinnitus is definitely a reality.  For kicks this past weekend I downloaded the free NIOSH sound level app and turned it on with zero effort to calibrate or likely even point mic properly.  Bottom line is a good Saturday night jam session averaged 65-72db with 1-2 occasional peaks more like 78-80.  

Curious if anyone has consulted physicians about this topic.....my early google info says those numbers shouldn't do much harm but come Sunday I'm not sure I agree.  

Huh?

Usually in the mid/low 70's as understandable conversation can take place while the music is playing.

However, when I have  a migraine I sometimes listen @ much  louder levels when laying down on the sofa with the lights out.

Being in bed/dark quiet room with a migraine is the stupidest advice I've yet received from experts in the field as a distraction works wonders/sans major pain killers.

My distraction is music, which is often Motzart and/or The Who's Quadrophenia.

DeKay

70 to 75 db. For the last record of a session, may bring it up to 80 db. I developed tinnitus two summers ago at a Humphrey's McGee concert at Red Rocks that lasted 4 hours. Killer monster sound, but for too long. Have been careful ever since.

It registers low battery.

MC. What does your Rat Shack meter measure?

My preamp really does go to 11 but I usually keep it around 70-75 db.

Finally, someone gets it.

How loud can you go? Mine goes to 11
;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc

50s to 70s. I wonder how many actually use a db meter on phone or otherwise.

@maxwave +2

How loud can you go? Mine goes to 11
;)

Average in the low 80's, but can hit peaks of >100 dB a couple to a few time per day.

In a small apartment here and perforce I sit fairly close so 60-75db typically and that's plenty loud.

90 to 95 db is my average level because i do not react to low volume listening at all if i can not get the rush of music washing over me than why listen.

Well, it depends on what I’m listening to. I listen to a lot of classical music, so the dynamic range and ‘loudness’ fluctuates quite a bit. But, one thing I’ve learned is to play music loud enough to be realistic to any particular music’s performance, (as in, how loud would it be ‘live’), not quieter, not louder. I live alone, so can crank it without issue. What bothers me is playing any music unrealistically loud, or quiet.

All that said, I think I average at about 75-85 db, depending. 

Never checked till now.  Downloaded the app while listening to Stormwatch/Tull album on a Bose Mini II Soundlink located 8 feet away.
Gage read 69db average.  Higher than I would have guessed.  
My wife seems to usually come in to the main stereo room and say, "That sounds freakin; awesome.  Turn it up!!"  
Damn hippie relics, never wanna quit.   :>)  

I do a lot of my listening in the evening or night. My wife is usually in the living room or bedroom,so I try to keep it civilized. Right now I'm listening at approximately 65db. Later at night this will be turned down to 55-60. If I'm home alone,I'll pick up the pace to 75-80 db. 

60-65 and 70-80 if i am letting my hair down 

I'm happiest with program average 75-80 dB and peaks around 83-85.

Average for me is 78-85DB.  I also use my trusty Radio Shack meter, bought in the 70’s.  It is more accurate than the one for the iPhone and iPad.  

70's. Low 80's when I'm feeling frisky.  For me, ahem, quality is more important than quantity.  

Checked with one, seems 55 are average low normal listening levels and 83 average high.
That represents 30-55 on preamp indicator volume scale (95 max) if it means anything.

G

Yeah me neither 90 peak dbs in my room is cranked.  I hang mostly in the high 70 and mid 80 range.   

I very seldom will ever peak over 90.  It's bad for your hearing.

70 on the low end 90 on the high end. Using Iphone to measure db with internal mic so not sure how accurate that is.