Never really given this any thought. I remember as a young student seeing Van Halen in Concert at NC State and could not hear correctly for the next 2 days. I told myself never again. I enjoy my Maggies at 70-80 Db depending on the music being played. Its nice to physically feel the music and still hear all the detail. For me 90-105 is loud and at this level my brain fails to process detail well, hardly the speakers fault.
How much is "LOUD" still a reference point for some?
Do you feel that with speakers things are about the same as they were in the 1970s? In the early days of Magnepan, Advent, Dahlquist and more, much of the competition was in speakers that sounded like a Jukebox and played LOUD. Has this changed or is "LOUD" still the point of reference for many?