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The Low Volume Loudness Dilemma

I love the power and detail of music played at what I call "Actual instrument volume" which is pretty loud and dominating. 

I like music in the background when I'm reading or entertaining. The problem is that the fullness and richness is thin to gone at low volume. This seems to be the case no matter how much a system costs. I listened to a Burmester rig driving a set of Wilson Alexx V speakers in a perfectly tuned listening room with cabling that costs more than my Lexus and the "missing music" at low volume problem was there too. $350,000 in gear couldn't fix it. 

I did the unthinkable - I bought a DBX 2231 equalizer off of eBay for a couple hundred bucks and messed around with the sound curve. Viola! "Loudness"!  I know this is sacrilege and may cause excommunication by the purist class but I am able to get full rich sound at low levels. The Eq also compensates for the anomalies in my listening area (large great room with other rooms connected to it.)

I don't have the square footage or budget to build a proper dedicated listening room with all the sound management treatments so I'm "making due" with what I do have. 

Does anybody have some guidance or constructive thoughts on how to get full rich music at low SPLs? 

yesiam_a_pirate

Showing 2 responses by avanti1960

avanti1960
1,545 posts
 

Frequency loudness sensitivity aside, there are differences in the abilities of different systems to sound rich and full at low volume.  

The combination of robust amplification and higher than usual speaker efficiency gets the job done.  Look for amps that have more power as the impedance is reduced- e.g. amps that double down.  

At one extreme HE and Horn Speakers tend to do the best job at producing bass at low volume levels, something like JBL or Klipsch Heritage, Volti Audio etc.  Larger more sensitive woofers e.g. 12 to 15 inch / 90+ db efficiency for example. 

I had a really modest system with PSB tower speakers and a NAD 150 watt amp and the woofers seemed to be connected mechanically to the amp- every punch and note was felt despite very low listening levels.  

It can be done. 

 

avanti1960
1,545 posts
 

@mapman 

My listening experiences tell me that a higher sensitivity speaker (especially horn loaded or OB) does respond better than a typical ported box speaker system even driven by a robust powerful amplifier. 

A given ported box speaker does respond to better amplification but never quite gets there.  

Something about horns and OBs with their near 100db sensitivity that makes them have dynamic punch and effortlessness.    

 

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