??? Listening Levels & Musical Styles ???


 Sometimes while listening,my mind wonders into the realm of analytical thought it doesn’t normally venture into...
 Today while browsing the net with my Pandora Classic Rock station in the background I noticed I kept being pulled away from the computer screen to song after song & turning up the volume level well beyond conversation levels..After a while I started thinking about the differing styles of music I enjoy & realized that I seem to listen to differing volume levels depending on the styles of music qued up..
 I tend to play certain styles of music depending on the time of day & my mood..I always listen to calming music like Classical,Ambiant,Folk,Spa,Acoustic Blues(Delta) or Cool Jazz in the early & late hours of the day,& always at levels where a conversation can easily be maintained..When the day starts rolling along & Classic Rock,80’s Alternative,Reggae or Hard Chicago Blues(electric) gets the call,the volume knob ALMOST ALWAYS gets turned up until conversation isn’t possible..
 While I realize that I do sometimes listen to styles like Classic Rock etc.. at sane levels,I can’t ever recall listening to more sedate styles of music & getting the urge to crank it up & "rock out"...
 Anyone care to hypothesize as to why certain styles of music just don’t sound right until the DB.level is increased to above conversation levels & other styles just don’t cry out to be cranked up ?

freediver

I don’t know anyone who cranked up The Carpenters,  I also don’t know anyone who hasn’t cranked up Pink Floyd.

The "Gemini" summary is spot-on. But I thought everyone here knew all that. The chief variable is not your ears or your mood or the ambient noise level. The chief variable is what's on the record.  

How loud?  Depends on whether or not my wife is home.  Or sleeping.  

The dog doesn't care.  But he's old and probably partially deaf like me.

 

@erik_squires the ONLY emotion I actually seek when listening to any style of music is enjoyment.

 

Well, if you get nuance about what that  enjoyment does for you... I think you'll better understand why you want to listen at certain levels.   So long as you do enjoy what you spend money and time on is what matters.

I remember one of John Lennon's albums stating "Made loud to be played loud".  Very fitting.