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How loud is too loud

Hi. Im new to the world of audiophile and am hoping someone can help with a problem only nine months in to spending £3000  on my set up. I've got an audiolab 8200p power amp, audiolab 8300cd and monitor audio silver 8 speakers. After playing some fairly heavy house music at -10db I noticed a distinct lack in sound quality when I played music at a lower volume and now it sounds as if I've lost a whole frequency level. There is not distortion as such, it's just that music sounds quieter and less definition in the top end. I always run my system in before turning up the volume and never push it too hard for too long. Normal listening level is around -30db.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
tcapone
tomcarr
1,512 posts
 
Another vote for the over-looked RS sound level meter.
I too use mine seemingly all the time.
Typical listening: 75 dB peaks (95% of all listening)
Rockin': 85 dB peaks (when I'm gettin jiggy with it)
Brief Moments of Euphoria: 95 dB peaks (very rare)
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Damaged tweeter(s)- as a minimum the ferrofluid probably dried up - possibly voice coil is now rubbing and only works at all at higher volume.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
In my experience, if/when the sound quality appears deteriorated after playing the music real real loud, either the tweeters or the listener’s ears, or both are damaged.
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glupson
7,842 posts
 
Just a little addendum to roberjerman's explanation. "Loudness" switch was pretty much ubiquitous on 1970s-1980s amplifiers/receivers. However, these days Luxman and Accuphase still include "Loudness" on, at least, their integrated amplifiers. It works.
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