Turn down the Volume!


One topic that seems rarely discussed is volume. If you listen to mixing engineers, it’s their most feared aspect of how their work is measured, since it’s out of their control. This leads to things like loudness wars (assume the worst). As my system has improved, my main takeaway is I can be engaged with 60db peaks, where when I hear other systems you often have to turn it up to 90db peaks for it to sound decent. I’m pretty sure it all has to do with bass and room energy, but wonder if others have a similar experience. Side note that reviews or any subjective ‘better’ statements about gear rarely indicate how loud they are listening. since all we can perceive if volume it is puzzling. I will say if it sounds good with 110 db peaks then that is impressive. 

dain

Showing 1 response by lou_setriodes

I received some great audio advice early in my 20’s from a 75 year old, tone deaf, audio store owner who built his own speakers.  In his store, he had an LED watt meter so when we cranked the music, we could see how many watts we were really listening to.  We were amazed at how loud 1-2 watts could be!  His advice was to turn the music lower and save our ears, they are the only ones we get.  
 

As a result, I’ve always had a preference for low wattage gear.