Why magic at 80 db?

80 db IS background level.....;-}}

Shakey

So between 80 to 85 is where I mainly listen. From a hearing protection standpoint, am I still at safe levels?

According to this -- the first plausible link from a google search -- yes:

http://www.hearnet.com/at_risk/risk_aboutloss.shtml

Personally, I'd have guessed no; 85db seems pretty loud to me, and I'd fatigue pretty quickly at that level. I'd be curious to hear what more expert people say.

John

IMHO I don't agree with the Fletecher and Munson or Robinson-Dadson effects suggested but I do agree with the possible effects of your drivers not being broken in & your amp-speaker interface.
Additionally, I believe that the sensitivity of the drivers used in your speaker could also be an issue. the drivers are likely not very senstive to very low music signals meaning that you don't get much pistonic action hence not much output SPL from them. 2ndly, even if the drivers themselves were sensitive to low music signal, the cross-over circuit could be attenuating that low level music signal & preventing it from reaching the drivers.
it's quite an art-form in speaker design to make a cone driver speaker responsive to low music signals; most of the speakers in the market simple do not make this grade.
This is where electrostatic, ribbon & planar speakers win big time - the mass of the driver is much, much less than the mass of a cone driver hence the responsiveness of planar speakers (due to sloth I'm clubbing all 3 categories into "planar" speakers) is well-known by almost all in the user community.
FWIW.

What wonderful comments to my question. Thanks guys.

Durbin, my previous speakers were Salk HT1s. They had a Seas Excel magnesium midrange.

Thinking back, I did prefer the 80-85 db range on them too, but the difference wasn’t as pronounced. If I had to guess the I would say that I was not only listening to the musical instruments, I was also listening to slight colorations in the sound at lower levels that made the music more interesting down there. That is just a WAG at a solution that is not given with any conviction.

I have heard that said about Quads before. I wonder if they can play cleanly at 80 db without any distress since shorter transients are probably much louder.

Bob

Audiofankj,

That was an interesting comment that it might be my amp. I have a McCormak 225. I will keep your possibility in mind.

Mezmo,

I find your comment most interesting of all. One clue that the mastering level might be a key point is that when I listen to a classical orchestra at 80-85 then the passages that are much softer still sound pretty special too.

Bob