What is the proper loudness for listening?
Paul McGowan via YouTube claims that each room, system and recording has a specific sound level at which music sounds most "real"
I've noticed this myself listening to my 3 different systems set up in differing rooms. Thought I was crazy to think so but I guess maybe I'm not?
Also, have notice in smaller listening rooms that lower maximum volume levels sound more real. Going too high on volume in a small room just overloads it and results in distortion
Any comments?
Yes. Another way to say it is the optimal level is the loudest you can go for extended periods without risk of damaging hearing. Dynamic peaks in the mid to upper 80s db level starts to breach into that territory. A sound meter app like decibel on iPhone is your friend! When you start peaking in the yellow zone you are where you want to be in most cases ….. beyond the green and short of red.
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@laynes that could be odd order harmonic distortion that makes the treble hard to handle at higher volumes. It’s an artifact of many older SS amps. Tube amps and most modern Class D amps are less prone to that issue. @atmasphere talks about that all the time here if you search out his posts. |
Large room or small, the music sounds best to me when the measured peaks are coming in over 85 and under 90db. Loud enough for realism but not so loud that damage to hearing is a real concern. A sound meter app on your smartphone like decibel app is your friend both for determining good listening levels and frequency response aberrations from room acoustics, which in many rooms is quite significant, left unaddressed. |
