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RE: This comes from a system that will play at peak SPLs about 118 dB

The "crest ratio" is the difference between peaks and the short term (e.g. 0.5 second) average in the music. Typically this will be 20 dB on an uncompressed recording. Thus one needs at least 100 times more power than one might think. One needs even more than that if one wants ones system to preserve the dynamics as recorded. For example, when one plays a dynamic speaker loud its voice coil will heat up, increasing its resistance. Since the amplifier is putting out constant voltage the net result will be a compression of dynamics. In other words, one needs about 1000 times as much power as one would think if one wants to stay a factor of ten from the limits of one's equipment.

So basically, if one wants clean sound that preserves all the recorded dynamics one needs a system that has the capability to damage ones hearing. I generally listen at an average SPL around 85 dB, perhaps 90 dB for fff passages in a Mahler symphony. This is not going to do (much) hearing damage, since only portions of the music are at these levels. Peak SPL could be 105-110 dB, and the extra head room ensures that there is no significant dynamic compression on playback. If one has a system that will reproduce the sound of a space shuttle launch at the VIP platform (10 Hz at 140 dB) one will have a system that can destroy one's house.

It would be nice to be able to hear sine waves at 21 kHz like I could 50 years ago, but now it's more like 14 kHz. (I probably did more damage to my hearing by flying Cessna's some years back than I did going to concerts (classical and jazz).)


Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar



Edits: 03/27/12

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  • RE: This comes from a system that will play at peak SPLs about 118 dB - Tony Lauck 07:11:22 03/27/12 (0)

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