Don and Thom,
Gents, with all due respect, an 81-83 db SPL from my speakers conveys none of the emotional aspect of my music so I prefer it more around 88-90 db, thereabouts. I want a visceral impact to the sound of my system and 83 db does not provide that. By this, I mean when I am I doing critical listening.
I participated in a San Francisco Audio Society listening comparison of the totl Coincidence speakers to Andrew Jones' $200 speakers, maybe Panasonic, I forget now. We initially did an A/B session between the two pairs of speakers at a modest listening level, maybe 75-80 db, and the gathered listeners were totally flummoxed as to which two pairs of speakers were playing. I personally could not figure out which pair was playing, try as I might. Well, as you can anticipate, once the volume was turned up, it was 100% clear which pair was which, plain as day.
My best wishes for those that feel they are getting the full measure of their sound of their speakers at 81-83 db, but in my mind, that volume level in no possible way can portray the palpable sense of music reproduction on either my Spatial Audio speakers or my new Cube Audio Jazzon speakers. Long term listening at 90db is an issue and am aware of that, and I don't listen to music continuously at 90 db, but I do fairly often for short periods of time, and it energizes me.
If I were to be satisfied listing to music at 81-83 db, there are lots of inexpensive speakers available that sound just fine. But with more volume, the better speakers begin to shine, which is why we pay the large sums of money for them.