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RE: Peak decibels

Check out figure 2, I think you'll find it interesting:

http://www.zainea.com/Dynamic%20range.htm

Those 116 dB peak levels are actually pretty middle of the road for live music, but if you look down further in the article you'll see that they're on the high side for classical. So 116 dB is basically the figure that you need to size an amplifier to play the loudest classical recordings at a natural level without clipping. Most recordings won't hit those peaks and some people such as Morricab argue for a smaller, sweeter amplifier.

Also, I think that subjective levels can be misleading. The ear tends to decide a sound is loud when it starts hearing distortion, and most consumer gear gets decidedly uncomfortable at moderately high SPL's.

Another factor is that we're talking instantaneous peaks here. It's possible to push up a stereo system to give you a higher average level than what you'd hear at a classical concert -- just about any system will do it, even a pair of Quads. What happens though is that you lose the peaks.

Finally, a 10 dB difference equates only to a subjective doubling of loudness. So subjectively, 95 dB isn't that different from 85 dB. Louder, yes, but not horrifically so, as you might think from looking at the numbers. Very clean sound can be very hazardous sound, since you're apt to turn it up without knowing it, and once your ears ring or you hit the threshold of pain (about 120 dB SPL) you've done damage -- perhaps even before that.


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