Babies and Speakers

it was so long ago my recollection is weak (my kids are now 25 and 23), but listening volume was never a problem for me when my kids were infants. In fact, my oldest son would fall asleep whenever we turned on the vacuum cleaner!

The bigger issue for me was I little to had no time to listen. I ended up putting my energy/money into the best car stereo I could manage since I have a 50 minute commute, this was my listening time.

Both of my boys were born at home to the strains of Pachelbel's Canon in D. The music never stopped and now they both play instruments themselves.
It's the toddler stage you want to worry about. They climb. They knock things over. They smear food and other things. They put little things into little places. They are curious and their investigations can have disastrous results. You won't really care though. They're only little once.

I had a lot of soft new age music playing when my son was born (Enya, etc.). So far, he is a very peace loving and inquisitive soul.

Music is good for kids as long as its not jarring or upsetting. I think it has been scientifically supported that music helps the brain develop. Kids are not good for stereo systems though. Keep toddlers fingers away from soft dome tweeters, for example.

Id be more concerned with making sure your speakers of anchored to avoid tipping. Safety is much more impt. then worrying about disturbing the baby. I have twins and sometimes they even liked the stereo. All depends on the kid, the time of day, the amount of bass etc.

I agree with many of the previously made comments. If your floor plan will allow, you might consider my soulution to the quandry. While many kids will sleep through significant noise (especially when trained to do so), I like to listen at pretty loud levels. The hallway that leads to the bedrooms in my house has an entry that is very conducive to setting up a sort of false wall. That is, I purchase sound board from Lowes and wedge it in between the existing walls for a pretty snug fit (includes some cutting). This has proven to be both effective and inexpensive. I have been able to listen to my system at any level, any time of night for years without waking up my kids even once. By the way, I do not consider my kids to be especially deep sleepers. For added measure, I place a baby monitor in the hallway. That way, I know if someone gets up, cries, uses the bathroom, or whatever.