How loud do you normally listen to music?

I served in the artillery so my tolerance for loudness is out of whack.

You'd think I would have gotten used to it but I never did.

My enjoyment these days comes from the resolution of detail at low levels.

I'm more prone to turn it down than turn it up.
 
My enjoyment these days comes from the resolution of detail at low levels.

I'm more prone to turn it down than turn it up.

Same for me.

For my system to open up I need to turn up the volume to a point where it borders on uncomfortable in the listening room. I prefer listening from an adjoining room at these levels. If I turn it down too much it becomes uninteresting.

Actually I'm thinking about eventually getting an amp with bass/treble/loudness controls to better achieve this. I like the purist straight wire with gain approach but I'm realizing that this doesn't always work with my current listening habits.

I'm not 18 anymore and like everything else I have to face the fact that I just can't tolerate the same 12 hrs a day of loud music that I used to.
 
For me, I mostly look at the peak values. When demoing new gear or listening to a new recording, my peak values are in the mid 80's and I think average values are mid 70's. This is loud enough for me name borderline fatiguing after a few hours.

Normal listening is probably 5-6dB below that.
 
Not very loud at all, apparently. I measured at work and got 43 (office noise floor = 36). Here at home I'm rattling the windows at a whopping 53 (A weighted).

I "cranked it up" to the mid-70's just to get a reference for the levels of some of the other folks here. Could not do it for very long.

I've been playing in rock bands for 25 years and wear earplugs semi-religiously. To me that and attending live shows are very different experiences from listening to recorded music, which apparently I like to do at a relative whisper.
 
I served in the artillery so my tolerance for loudness is out of whack.

You'd think I would have gotten used to it but I never did.

My enjoyment these days comes from the resolution of detail at low levels.

I'm more prone to turn it down than turn it up.

I could have posted that (I feel the same way) :)
Member of 1/39 and 3/8 FAR (M198's)
 
Regular listening peak in the 75-80 range.
Critical listening +10db.
Occasional special albums 90-95.
Outside doing yard work while neighbors aren't home, 114db.

I do wear ear protection when using loud tools and at concerts
but I've stopped wearing ear plugs while mowing the lawn. :D

 
Depends on mood but, most time I listen avg 75-80db at listen spot. I only can tolarate low bass at high spl's. Pumping out 20hz at bone rattling 110-120db is different compared to midrange and up energies. Treble to air frequencies is what bothers me the most still so if a speaker or headphone is peaky somewhere I'll spot it cause even natural resonance from certain instruments bother me a lot.
 
Having recently broken down and gotten a smartphone, I got an app to answer this question (SPLnFFT). An early morning listening test playing M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion yielded (dbA):

Min: 28.6 Leq 57.2 Max 67.3

These numbers had not really changed after a trip outside to smoke, including getting in & out of the chair. But a flick of my Bic from 2 ft. away bumped the max to 72, and the resulting cough took it to 84. For scale. Different smoke. :)rolleyes: :nono:)

These really are typical listening volumes for me, at midnight or later, when everything's quiet. Sometimes during the day I listen a fair amount louder. I'll tell y'all how much louder next time that happens.

:)
 
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I sometimes turn it up, but usually I keep it at background level. Loud enough to hear that leading edge nicely, but usually nothing ear-offending. The second my ears get a little tired, I turn it down, so I bet I'm at the LOW end of the curve in terms of loudspeaker owners. Plus, that thing with my neighbors really put me on guard as far as my hearing is concerned, but thankfully, that has finally come to an end (They still have a few things here, but they took the beds and dogs and aren't sleeping here, so it's like they aren't living here anymore, so today I'm really living it up... I'd be having a couple Sierra Nevadas or Newcastles right now if I wasn't still kicking this sinus infection, but one can always substitute ;) ).

By the way, as far as lighters are concerned, I got in the habit of flicking it BEFORE I bring it in close (Try doing THAT outside on a windy day)
 
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I listen at a loud enough level to let the Magnapan MGIII's bloom in my main rig. probably around 80-95 db. They do get louder when Blue Shadow Shows up! :^)
Regards,
Jim

P.s. The Blessing/Curse of a better system is it's ability to play at higher DB levels with no loss of musicality!
 
"Loudness is often a substitute to create the illusion of seeing more. Then we forget what we really don't see. It's compensation. It proves out insufficient illumination at quieter levels. In plain speak, that's inferior and ultimately insufficient resolution. The need for SPL's nearly always signifies it."

Srajan Ebaen
 
"Loudness is often a substitute to create the illusion of seeing more. Then we forget what we really don't see. It's compensation. It proves out insufficient illumination at quieter levels. In plain speak, that's inferior and ultimately insufficient resolution. The need for SPL's nearly always signifies it."

Srajan Ebaen

Mr. Ebean has a point, but paints with a broad brush. If the goal is duplication of a live performance, the volume level needed is dependent on the material and the mix of said material. IMHO
Regards,
Jim
 
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"Loudness is often a substitute to create the illusion of seeing more. Then we forget what we really don't see. It's compensation. It proves out insufficient illumination at quieter levels. In plain speak, that's inferior and ultimately insufficient resolution. The need for SPL's nearly always signifies it."

Srajan Ebaen

Obviously Srajan didn't like loud music.

When the mood strikes I will turn it up for the total immersion that you can find in the loud music. There's a bit of good memory associated with the loud music of my youth I guess as well.

So I listen very low, mid 60's to 110dB peaks, all dependent on the occasion and mood. I try to be mindful of the time it is up loud, as damage is time dependent at these levels.

I know if it doesn't sound good low, it will sound a lot worse turned up! If you have great detail and resolution, it is a treat turned up loud for those of us who enjoy loud.
 
According to the app (Sound Meter Pro) on my phone I'm around the 80-85 level when listening alone,,,,,,,,,, more like 65-70 for background music.
 
Srajan is saying if you keep turning the volume up to hear more then your system lacks
resolution.

Understand his comment but still think he doesn't like loud music:music:

As was said I think he paints a broad brush and in my instance I will tend to increase the volume on a detailed and lush sounding system over a low resolution system any day. It's like sex. If it is really good, I will want more.
 
I have also found that the better the system, the better it performs at high volumes. In other words it retains it's strenghts and resolution and detail at higher volumes where a lesser system becomes a blaring mess. IMHO
Regards,
Jim
 
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