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In Reply to: RE: Your 'free' smartphone soundmeter.. What dB YOU listen at? posted by 3+4=5 on February 03, 2017 at 17:21:12
Below that, you ear starts to miss bottom end that's in the recording. Above that, you start hearing bass that actually isn't there; Fletcher-Munson works both ways. So for most pop/rock, I keep it around 85. Much less for string trios/quartets etc. Big orchestral slams might be above that somewhat, but not much. In my studio-assistant career (now retired) all the good engineers kept the steady-state levels pretty close to 85. They knew that's the level where you hear it as it is. Some hotshot hip-hop engineers blasted away, and their recordings always ended up extremely bass-shy. When we would hear the boom-boom coming from a soundproof room, the old-timers would smile, because they knew what the end product would be. (The clients were always impressed, feeling the shock waves in the control room pounding on their chests, but that changed when they heard the lean, wan end product outside the studio.)
I rarely listen louder, but once in a while it's fun. I've had Tannoy Stirling GR's for a few months now. They are the only dynamic speaker I've heard that are as good at whispering as Quad ESL 57's. Really. Strangely, they are also sound wonderful blowing the walls down. Tonal balance and presentation (row A vs row ZZ) are absolutely unchanged from ppp to ffff. Every other dynamic speaker I've had sounded distant and veiled below their "good" level, and sounded hard, glare-y, too in-your-face as they got too loud. These don't; the whispers are exquisite and can give goosebumps. As the volume increases, the sound just gets BIGGER, which can be thrilling with the right music. I've had these for a few months now, and am learning from them every day. They have changed the game for me completely, which is unexpected after forty-odd years. I'll do a review, but it will take a few months more before I really understand what's going on with them.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Follow Ups:
85 db using which weighting? That would be consistent for my listening at power levels with "C". At least with peaks, not steady average.
Right now, I'm listening to a classical music stream in the office peaking around 62 db using the Studio Six app for iOS.
With regards to "whispering ESLs", I find that as my system's resolution has improved over the years, I find as satisfying an experience found at slightly lower levels with my large panel area stats. They won't thump your chest with mid bass heavy dance music but can waft a satisfying heavy concert drum wave past my ears. :)
Which weighting? I generally use C, but no one in the studio looks at SPL meters; they just set volumes at the level that lets them hear as deeply as possible into the mix. For midrange, that is usually around 85 dB, with either weighting. That level is just loud enough so you have to lean in close to carry on a conversation, but you don't have to shout. A lot depends on the speakers - Scott Hull's big Duntechs at Masterdisk don't really do their thing until they are pretty loud; the Yammy NS10M's are better at low levels, but still benefit from some volume; the Doug Sax/Manley Tannoy ML10's are great at almost any level, though the bottom-ish end falls off a cliff.
Listen at the level you enjoy.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
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