What is the best DB level to

Hi Jw; when watching movies (and listening) I set the volume so that spoken dialogue sounds natural-- let "special effects" and music SPLS "fall where they may". And with music I adjust the volume so that the music just sounds live/natural. Another approach is to turn the source up a bit during during favorite passages, then turn it down. IMO, special effects in movies are recorded to damn loud.

I agree w/ '61. 85 dB is pretty loud and long term exposure to SPLs above 82 to 85 (depending on who you read, and believe) can cause hearing loss. Save your hearing.

Right now I'm listening to the Fab. T-Birds in the 75-80 dB range, and it sounds just right at 12-15 ft. in a medium sized room-- w/my HT system, and this is music that ROCKS. Cheers. Craig

In a good/proper balance system(with proper room treatment) using high listening level will not cause any listening fatigue.
Listening fatigue are caused by the following:
1. Poorly design audio equipments
2. Use of transistor equipments
3. Poorly design speakers, also speakers are too small and
inefficient
4. Poor room treatment
5. Mismatched equipment
6. Owner's ability
The phrase "You are what you eat" also apply in here.
In other word, the listening fatigue that you heard from you system are the sum of all the distortion in the audio chain..............

If the level you have to play your system at is proving too loud you might also consider having your DVD player modded. While it seems a bit strange, I just had my 38A modded by Dan Wright of ModWright and I found that the increase in transparency from the mods let me enjoy the music at much lower levels. It got rid of all that electronic distortion background noise and now there are just the sounds of musical instruments. I found that whereas previously about 70 dB was the mimimum SPL for listenable music after the mods it has dropped to the 50-55 dB range.

I guess that we should take note of this and remember it. Obviously, some of us have VERY different ideas of what is "loud" and what isn't. When i want to rock, things get cranked. It looks like most of you would be holding your ears and shuddering in the corners at some of the levels that i "jam" at.

Then again, i must admit that i've had similar "shuddering in the corner" experiences. If you have speakers that can't take high power and tend to compress when pushed being driven by amplifiers that get "nasty", "gritty" and lack "cohesiveness" when driven hard, it does sound like crap. In most cases, this is about 90% of all high end systems that i've heard. One might not believe how "smooth" and "unfatiguing" yet roaringly loud you can listen to music when the system is really dialed in.

Most of what most people consider "loud" is actually "distortion". That's why it hurts your ears and doesn't sound good. Remove the grain, glare and dynamic constriction and you're home free. High listening levels still sound as airy and effortless, only difference is that you are now experiencing chest compression on deep bass notes.

One of the biggest keys to cleaning up the "muck" coming out of the speakers and the power sucking that causes the amps to be pushed hard is to get rid of the passive crossover networks. Actively bi or tri-amping makes a PHENOMENAL difference. Not only are the drivers exposed to MUCH less signal out of their operating range ( allowing them to play louder within their usable frequency range ), the amplifier efficiency is DRASTICALLY improved also. This means less strain or congestion on the amps and less power being WASTED at the speaker. Both efficiency ( spl ) and sound quality is greatly increased.

Unless one had the desire to play loudly ( evidently VERY loudly ) on a regular basis and took the time to research such things, one would never find this out. Luckily, i've had a lot of gear to play around ( all at one time ) and past professional experience to find this out first hand. Vance Dickason also makes mention of these findings in his "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook".

While simply having "BIG watts" and "big speakers" doesn't make for "clean high volume listening", it is at least a partial step in the right direction. EVERYTHING in the system must have "dynamic headroom" as compression starts sounding VERY nasty VERY rapidly. This is why you are always best off with speakers that are high efficiency ( 93+ db's ) to start off with. That is, if you can find models that offer that type of sensitivity that sound good and do what you want them to do at a price that you can afford. Otherwise, you'll have to build your own. This is NOT as difficult as it may seem, especially when you consider that you don't have to worry about fine tuning the passive crossover. Sean
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Sean, as always a most illuminating post. I listen to a wide variety of music and in a 33 by 14 room the typical listening levels are in the 70-80dB range. The music is loud enough to impede normal conversation. Even when cranking up the volume I rarely go above 90dB, but it's not because of any nastiness or distortion creeping into the sound at higher volumes. I suspect I am like many who simply don't have the need to listen any louder. It's a personal preference. For myself - via airplanes, motorcycles, small engines and trains - I have more than enough exposure to high decibel levels. Listening to music is refuge from that loud world and as a result I only like my music a little loud.

One point in closing. A tough test for any system is whether it can convey the impact and intent of music at very low volumes.