How loud?
- Thread starter daniel
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Gordon Gray
Well-known member
Simple.
The better the system, the less volume required.
GG
The better the system, the less volume required.
GG
amey01
Well-known member
Depends on music, genre, mood, time of day and whether anyone else is home. I do find however, that most recordings have an ideal volume level. Most of the time I would say around 80dB with peaks around 85dB.
DTB300
Well-known member
Right on Gordon...It is all about quality, not quantity.
I tend to listen between 70 and 80 db's, on average.
Gordon
Well-known member
2 channel is normally between 75-80 db. When the kids come over, all bets are off!
roberto
Well-known member
Hola...I went to our National Theater, and with the Beethoven 5th Symphony with my Evy SPL Meter, I measure at the highest loud passages at the third rod only 93 dBs!...85 musicians playing at the same time...I do not understand the rock groups that play so high volume level, or a disco. Usually I play my system around 75 to 85 dBs and I love what I listen!...happy listening,
Roberto.
Roberto.
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Jimna
Well-known member
i need a SPL Meter.
Sambob2
Well-known member
Agreed, however Gordon has a good point as well. There are times when I just don't need more than 75 to 80dB.
You got an iphone? They have a great SPL meter app for it. It is supposedly more accurate than the Radio Shack meter.
Jimna
Well-known member
no i dont. i wont sacrifice good reception for a cool phone so i stick with verizon.
amey01
Well-known member
Accuracy was my question until I read further down your sentence.......but I wonder just how accurate are we talking? Pretty cool though.
Are there correction curves available (like there are for the RS meter)?
I purchased Audio Tools, an extensible collection of key acoustic measurement tools, including a very nice RTA. the base set in the app is only $20, add-ons are about $10 a piece. Very cost-effective in my book.
This app supplants dedicated gear costing orders of magnitude more.
On the iPhone 3G the mic accuracy is good enough for casual system balancing (say at a friends house, where you notice huge bass bloat from a sub turned waaay to high).
One truly establishes audio-cred when you whip this puppy out
If critical measurements are required, they are coming out with a $250 kit that includes a calibrated mic and audio interface for the iPT / iPhone.
Now, one has a transportable analysis kit the equal of multi-thousand dollar system solutions.
Oh, and the author of this app, is the one the writes the software for those 'Pro' high-buck systems. So the algorithms and all are pretty well wrung out.
Highly Recommended.
This app supplants dedicated gear costing orders of magnitude more.
On the iPhone 3G the mic accuracy is good enough for casual system balancing (say at a friends house, where you notice huge bass bloat from a sub turned waaay to high).
One truly establishes audio-cred when you whip this puppy out
If critical measurements are required, they are coming out with a $250 kit that includes a calibrated mic and audio interface for the iPT / iPhone.
Now, one has a transportable analysis kit the equal of multi-thousand dollar system solutions.
Oh, and the author of this app, is the one the writes the software for those 'Pro' high-buck systems. So the algorithms and all are pretty well wrung out.
Highly Recommended.
Most of these apps have the various A/C weighting options, as well as a bunch of other stuff the RS meter does not have.
The internal mic on a 3G is actually more accurate than the RatShack meter.
See this for details on the mic options and metrics for the iPhone / iPT:
http://www.studiosixdigital.com/iphone_hardware.html
On average, my levels are in the low 80's when 'listening'
For demos, they are in the mid 80's.
Ever since I added DynamicEQ (which dynamically adapts the frequency spectrum to match human hearing at low volumes), I actually listen about 5dB lower than before.
The system is calibrated to THX standards, so I know that if I set my preamp's volume to 0dB, I'll get reference sound levels on movie soundtracks. That's generally a bit loud for me, so I listen at -8 to -12 dB (below reference) on average.
The system measures clean at up to 105 dB, but I rarely push it to hit that on peaks. But man, loud AND clean is pretty impressive.
Bernard
Well-known member
I agree completely with both of Adam's statements.
To each his own, I suppose. I do get frustrated with AT&T's reception sometimes, but then I hear similar complaints from Verizon customers as well on occasion. Both have their issues in particular instances.
But I cannot imagine going back to any other phone/personal assistant/portable computer at this point. With all the apps available, I daresay my iphone is more useful to me on a day-to-day basis than my laptop or my desktop. It is not about cool. It is about what the device can do to make your life easier, more enjoyable, etc. In other words, functionality.
Jonathan, thanks for mentioning the Audio Tools app. I just have the basic SPL meter, but that app sounds awesome. Like you say, it is amazing the functionality you can get from some of these apps for little cost.
David Matz
Well-known member
Peter McGrath of Wilson, who is also a world famous recording engineer, recommends the 80-85 db range. According to him, humans psycho- acoustically perceive that range as most musically enjoyable.
