Hi Bob,
Those are logical questions, and the answer to the first one is that if the system reproduces the music in a neutral manner, with flat frequency response, then the ear will hear it similarly to how it would have heard the original live performance. If the system were set up to compensate for the Fletcher-Munson or other "equal loudness curves," the perceived sound would be very imbalanced because the hearing process in real life has no such compensation.
That assumes, of course, that you are listening at realistic volume levels. Some compensation may be in order if the listening volume is unrealistically low, which is why low-fi and mid-fi receivers sometimes include a "loudness control," which does just that. Of course, with that type of equipment one will often tend to want to listen at less than realistic volumes, because their distortion will be both greater and more objectionable at higher volumes.
Rodman has provided some good information about how to do it right, and about the complexities that are involved, and ElDartford and Buconero have made excellent points about sensitivity to level and to room effects.
Re level matching by ear, I have no experience trying to match satellites and subs, because my speakers are pretty much full range, but I would think that using test tones would at best provide a rough starting point, with the final adjustments having to be made using well-recorded music that contains significant deep bass content.
Regards,
-- Al
Those are logical questions, and the answer to the first one is that if the system reproduces the music in a neutral manner, with flat frequency response, then the ear will hear it similarly to how it would have heard the original live performance. If the system were set up to compensate for the Fletcher-Munson or other "equal loudness curves," the perceived sound would be very imbalanced because the hearing process in real life has no such compensation.
That assumes, of course, that you are listening at realistic volume levels. Some compensation may be in order if the listening volume is unrealistically low, which is why low-fi and mid-fi receivers sometimes include a "loudness control," which does just that. Of course, with that type of equipment one will often tend to want to listen at less than realistic volumes, because their distortion will be both greater and more objectionable at higher volumes.
Rodman has provided some good information about how to do it right, and about the complexities that are involved, and ElDartford and Buconero have made excellent points about sensitivity to level and to room effects.
Re level matching by ear, I have no experience trying to match satellites and subs, because my speakers are pretty much full range, but I would think that using test tones would at best provide a rough starting point, with the final adjustments having to be made using well-recorded music that contains significant deep bass content.
Regards,
-- Al