Holy sh*t!
I did this last time we did this thread and I seem to recall it was 70db average here.
How loud do you normally listen?
- Thread starter RoA
- Start date
Holy sh*t!
I did this last time we did this thread and I seem to recall it was 70db average here.
Tony L
Administrator
I’m listening to some fairly dynamic jazz on the TL12 Plus LS3/5A system, so maybe 1.2 metres from the speakers and I’m seeing 74-78 db C weighted average with the loudest peak I could record (max hold) at about 85db. This with an AZ 8928 hardware meter, not a phone. My suspicion is some transient peaks are rather higher than that as this meter does sample pretty slowly.
PS I’ve really deep-dived this stuff with a multimeter and oscilloscope in the past as I wanted to make absolutely sure I wasn’t clipping my 10 Watt valve amp at any level I’d personally want to listen at, and it appears I’m not.
PS I’ve really deep-dived this stuff with a multimeter and oscilloscope in the past as I wanted to make absolutely sure I wasn’t clipping my 10 Watt valve amp at any level I’d personally want to listen at, and it appears I’m not.
Chris81
pfm Member
Which speaker do you use?
harmonica98
pfm Member
74db using the Sound Meter app this evening. Plenty loud enough for me!
Tony L
Administrator
I find the comparatively low numbers being posted here interesting, far quieter than I was expecting based on some home visits, audio shows, dealers etc. Given even a low-efficiency speaker is around 84db per Watt (and you gain another 3db for two speakers in the room) few will be using their first Watt.
I doubt I’ve ever stuck a whole Watt through the Tannoys in the decade or so I’ve owned them, though I did work out with a multimeter and oscilloscope I hit about 6W on transient peaks into the JR149s on occasion. It makes you think about what amp power you actually need.
PS Watts (and db) are logarithmic and each doubling of Watts equates to 3db, e.g. an 84db speaker producing 84db (at one metre) takes 1 Watt, for 87db 2W, for 90 4W, 93 8W etc. You also lose 3db for every meter further away from the speakers you sit, so that needs to be factored too. I know this is teaching most folk to suck eggs, but worth posting regardless.
I doubt I’ve ever stuck a whole Watt through the Tannoys in the decade or so I’ve owned them, though I did work out with a multimeter and oscilloscope I hit about 6W on transient peaks into the JR149s on occasion. It makes you think about what amp power you actually need.
PS Watts (and db) are logarithmic and each doubling of Watts equates to 3db, e.g. an 84db speaker producing 84db (at one metre) takes 1 Watt, for 87db 2W, for 90 4W, 93 8W etc. You also lose 3db for every meter further away from the speakers you sit, so that needs to be factored too. I know this is teaching most folk to suck eggs, but worth posting regardless.
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
Gosh.... those do look mighty.I use the mighty Cabasse Galion IV.
But I also have Quad ESL 57’s, which are less efficient by 13 dB
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
I want to learn this stuff so appreciate you taking the time.
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
Woodwick candle and free range hedgehog noise here - same level.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
Your SPL meter is broke. A quiet room typically measures around 35dB, so I'd be suspicious of any reading lower than 30dB.
Tony L
Administrator
That’s a whole different thing! It is not a sound-level. In this case 0db is no attenuation, the preamp is just passing whatever signal is at the input through, the minus figures in db are the attenuation level below that. Kind of think of it more like the VU meters on a tape deck, but not quite as they refer to an absolute level above which the tape may overload, the ‘0db’ point is just below the red.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
That's a diplomatic way to put it, - I was thinking 'suspicious' would be more appropriate.
I reckon some folks' SPL meters are telling 'em fibs, especially the one that reported a reading close to 40dB when listening to Radio 3... At that sort of volume all you'd be able to make out is the announcer's voice, most of the music would be masked by the room's noise floor!
Tony L
Administrator
That's a diplomatic way to put it, - I was thinking 'suspicious' would be more appropriate.
Yes, I have to admit that is my view too. I listen quietly compared to most audiophiles I know, and I’m in the 75-80db range.
IME some of the iPhone sound meters are pretty decent, they seem to be within a couple of db of a credible hardware meter, but once you move to Android all bets are off and chances are you just have a random number generator as there are just so many different phones and variations. The app designer has no chance of knowing what mic sensitivity and response curve is in every brand and model. By comparison Apple are simple as all iPhone 8s or whatever should be within a couple of db of each other, i.e. the app designer only needs data for about 20 phones allowing for the different types within range e.g. 8, 8 Max etc. With Android that list would likely be high hundreds or even thousands. The next issue is phone cases as some radically alter the response, polar pattern etc and will do so without the app being aware or able to compensate. I’d trust a good condition iPhone taken out of any case running a credible app such as the Faber Acoustical ones to be within 3db or so over much of the range, but that’s about it. My 6S is certainly at the levels I measure at.
Somafunk
pfm Member
Hope it’s not one of those noisy bastards, i got two for Xmas (jasmine and a sandlewood something or other) and the crackling wick drove me nuts so gave it to my elderly neighbour who loves them, I now get given weekly gifts of fresh baking which I consider a win as she’s a bit of woman’s rural champion baker, currently scoffing a medjool date and treacle with burnt brown sugar crust cake/loaf which goes extremely well with a healthy dose of Balvenie Caribbean Cask malt whisky.
Currently at 68db(A) peaking to 72db(A) listening to Pye Corner Audio/Andy Bell - On The Indica Gallery EP using the NIOSH SLM iPhone app in a well treated room.
I expect I’m gonna be sat here for a while……..
edit
“Tony L : IME some of the iPhone sound meters are pretty decent,“
I questioned the validity of the KRK mission control iPhone app for setting up KRK speakers and they replied that the microphone in the iPhone has extremely good quality control so it has known and verifiable parameters when it came to designing a useful and accurate app, more so than the complications with various microphones used in android devices.
Seems an entirely plausible explanation to me,
davidsrsb
pfm Member
When I am actively listening, average around 70, peaks around 80.
Anymore and the neighbours will complain.
I find HiFi shows way-way too loud and for that reason alone, hopeless for reference
People here reporting 90 are going to wreck their hearing
Yes a loud cough can be 80, but you don't listen to that for hours
Anymore and the neighbours will complain.
I find HiFi shows way-way too loud and for that reason alone, hopeless for reference
People here reporting 90 are going to wreck their hearing
Yes a loud cough can be 80, but you don't listen to that for hours
mindlagoon
pfm Member
Watts are not inherently logarithmic but putting them on a dB scale allows ratios to be calculated or measured easily, and it compresses the numbers.
Correction - it drops 6dB due to it acting over a surface, and it's 6dB for each doubling of distance, not per metre (surface increases by a factor of 4).