+1
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.
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- 87 posts total
Thanx @onlyqualityhifi. That might be true for studio monitoring situations. I am no expert in that. But, in home situations that is certainly wrong and it does not matter which source I am using. It is certain that modern recordings are much more consistent than older ones. It is also certain that I listen to much less of the room than is usual. To my ear various recordings sound best at wildly different volume settings especially when jumping genres. If you try to set one volume level, calibrated for each source, some recordings are going to sound dull and others too bright. There are too many variables that play into this for one volume to work, from the mics used to the settings of the recording engineer. Then you are off to the mixing engineer and finally production of the source material, records, CDs and so forth. All involve setting levels. The quality of the home system including the room also play into this. Systems that tend towards sibilance can be uncomfortable to listen too at higher volumes. An interesting aside. In the past I always thought sibilance was just a fact of life and you always had to live with some of it. The instinct is always to turn the volume down. This is not true. Over the years as my system improved sibilance became progressively less of a problem until now when I rarely have an issue with it. My volume levels have also steadily increased. It is not because or presbycusis either although I have a small amount. I certainly hear it in some systems and not others. |
@sns My favorite time to listen is at 1-2am with snow falling and at least 5" on the ground. Ambient noise is very low and everything sounds fantastic! |
- 87 posts total