Excellent post!
Indeed, I found that ambient noise is a terrible problem in the US. We are so used to it we don't even notice. I grew up in quieter areas and when I moved into metro Honolulu, for first five years I thought I was going crazy because I had to adapt to the high ambient noise level of the city. (And the Makiki area where I lived at that time is pretty quiet by US metro standards!)I moved out from the big city, and into a very quiet neighborhood. The daytime noise level is still quite above that of average Europe, for example - mainly because of the drywall construction here, and practically zero concern of builders to soundproof the houses. (Versus the brick or stone constructions in Europe that are excellent sound barriers - I could easily hear a mosquito across the living room at night!)
Thus, my first move was to install additional sound proofing, the triple system they use in professional theatres, cutting down 65+dB from outside noises. Big job, but well worth it! (Also, I can blast music at ANY time I want and neighbors do not hear it.)
That still leaves the noise of the appliances, etc, clock ticking on the wall. The whisper quiet ticking is not noticeable during daytime, but in the AM hours it becomes a nagging distraction.
During daytime the noise floor is in the 20s, so our talking level is in the 30s (no need to shout at the end of the day) and in the evenings it must be in the 10dB or so. There is a gigantic difference between the two, how the system sounds. I make all my amps dead quiet even on 100dB speakers, with ears to the driver cone, so get the best of both aspects. Even with that, there is a MAJOR difference when ambient noise is 20dB VS 10dB. with 20dB noise the music seems to collapse, the effect is so great!
I highly recommend for everyone to treat ambient noise as a primary concern to fix.
