How loud is loud, What DB is actually loud?

chadeffect, 135db in a car is pretty easy to do with subwoofers. i use to compete with my car about 9 years ago and only had 1 12" subwoofer and would score 136db any day. these competitions are bass only, and usually people use simple test tones to hit one frequency. there are vehicles now that score well over 170db in these competitions.

85db at 1 watt at 1 meter 1 meter is far inside a car...
88db at 2 watts
91db at 4 watts
94db at 8 watts
97db at 16 watts
100db at 32 watts
103db at 64 watts
106db at 128 watts
109db at 256 watts and so on.
Imagine what it takes to get to 170db if you keep doubling your power to gain a measly 3db? You need to gain about 10db to double the perceived volume. Even with 102db speakers (which are rare), it takes more wattage than any amp I've seen to get 170db. I imagine that it sounds pretty crummy and distorted at those levels.

Low listening levels beget lower listening habits? Don't let my missus hear that! My life is hell already! It already feels like I listen to music rather like someone who is sitting next to a passenger on the tube who is using earphones!