Why magic at 80 db?

Rsimms,
Incredibly interesting thoughts here by you.
When I listen, I try to set the volume at what I could imagine Nancy Wilson, Renee Olstead would be singing at, IF they were in my room with me, standing between my speakers.
Anything more or less leaves me wanting, or in pain.

Great thread...great.

Good listening,
Larry

i use to have this problem...kinda was running a krell s-300i into aerial 7b's. it never sounded great at low listening levels but improved once above the 80db mark. never understood why but think this thread sheds some light on it. things got *much better* after upgrading to an ml432. spec wise...the ml is overkill in the power department for the 7b's. real world wise, it's just right. seems certain speakers need more power then the mfg's rating to really shine imho.

Lrsky, thanks for your kind comments.

Bob

that is right Levy03,I have experienced it with dynaudio and krell combo in free space outside house,then speakers really rocks ,amazing dynamic blast in overall sound presentation:)

I've read any sound over 85 db can cause hearing loss.

I suspect our ears are naturally tuned in general to perform best with levels somewhat below that.

For our ears to perform at lower levels than they are tuned to (<80 db?)normally requires extra effort, focus, attention, whatever you want to call it bu the result is we have to work harder to do it well so the results are less enjoyable, certainly not "magic" at its best.

The stars align when recording and system synergize to produce quality sound at our ear's "sweet spot" in terms of our ability to hear, at somewhat less than 85db I suppose.