Why magic at 80 db?

The features seem a to run less hot, but still...wow.

observe the same thing on your TV set - the feature presentation will be at a lower volume compared to the ads that come every 10 minutes or so. MAke a note of this the next time you are watching TV (don't touch the sound level on your remote when the ads come on).

There's been a move in Washington, to try to control commerical loudness levels: ( http://www.livescience.com/5737-effort-shush-loud-tv-commercials.html ) I hate hype, and immediately mute my system's sound, when they come on. The fake excitement, noise and blatent lies...... oh well.....!

Answer: DVR. I refuse to watch commercials EVER.

Low-efficiency speaker like ATC and Dynaudio have this problem. Some with heavy cones need more juice before they come to life too.

Just food for thought, but for anyone who thinks 80dB is quiet, try 80dB with active (no passive crossover), line arrays (multiple drivers in a vertical arrangement) in a small room. There is something called room pressurization and dynamic range that can make 80dB sound quite loud.

FWIW, people complain that they cannot talk over my speakers at 75-85dB levels.

Tell those people to stop talking over your speakers.