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The Low Volume Loudness Dilemma

I love the power and detail of music played at what I call "Actual instrument volume" which is pretty loud and dominating. 

I like music in the background when I'm reading or entertaining. The problem is that the fullness and richness is thin to gone at low volume. This seems to be the case no matter how much a system costs. I listened to a Burmester rig driving a set of Wilson Alexx V speakers in a perfectly tuned listening room with cabling that costs more than my Lexus and the "missing music" at low volume problem was there too. $350,000 in gear couldn't fix it. 

I did the unthinkable - I bought a DBX 2231 equalizer off of eBay for a couple hundred bucks and messed around with the sound curve. Viola! "Loudness"!  I know this is sacrilege and may cause excommunication by the purist class but I am able to get full rich sound at low levels. The Eq also compensates for the anomalies in my listening area (large great room with other rooms connected to it.)

I don't have the square footage or budget to build a proper dedicated listening room with all the sound management treatments so I'm "making due" with what I do have. 

Does anybody have some guidance or constructive thoughts on how to get full rich music at low SPLs? 

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ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,048 posts
 

+1 @yogiboy 

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,087 posts
 

No doubt digital eq (dsp) provides ultimate flexibility. Traditional analog is limited. Understanding Fletcher Munson first is the key. Also room acoustics bass mode frequencies in particular. Use a sound meter app and white noise to detect those.

sgordon1
419 posts
 

They’re called “cans” or “headphones.”

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,855 posts
 

I’m an unabashed loud listener, so this desire seems very foreign to me haha. But yes, as has already been speculated, increasingly exotic gear is not the solution - some from of EQ or a good "loudness" mode is probably the way to go.

You’ve hit on an interesting audiophile trope / anti-patten: "this system is so good (i.e. expensive) that you get full detail and dynamics even at low volumes!". I would posit that such a system (or component) is specifically optimized for low level listening, and would in fact sound quite unbalanced (too much bass and/or treble) when pushed into higher volumes. I am sure MY system sounds quite dull to low volume listeners!

g2the2nd
38 posts
 

I think you nailed it. Schiit makes a nice line of modern Eqs. I have the mini one on my headphone rig. It is just right.

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