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Are you operating in the correct SPL window for high-fidelity listening?

We spend hours and hundreds of dollars properly setting up our turntables (or have the dealer do it).  Do you spend any time setting the correct db level for listening?

The Fletcher-Munson curves, also known as equal loudness contours, illustrate how human perception of sound loudness changes with frequency and volume. They show that at low volumes, the human ear is less sensitive to very low and very high frequencies, making midrange frequencies seem louder than they are. Conversely, at high volumes, the ear becomes more sensitive to low and high frequencies, making them seem louder.  See the ISO 226 standard.

I listen at the volume recording engineers use for mixing:  80 to 85 db. Anyone have any thoughts?

markalarsen
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,915 posts
 

85-90 db is a good target.   The most lifelike and still safe for ears.  
 

I shoot for that generally for serious listening and use a db meter to help. 

whart's avatar
whart
3,207 posts
 

Some recordings are "cut" hotter than others. There is also the ambient noise of the listening room to take account of, leaving to one side the noise threshold of the system itself. Using high sensitivity speakers (104db), I had to work like the devil to quiet the system from inter-component grounding anomalies and to ensure that the power feeding my system was quiet without using "conditioners." All that said, I can hear the program material at low volume, but to energize the fairly large room my main system is in, I do need to give the system some gain.

I've mentioned this before, but every recording seems to have a "natural" volume at which it sounds best. I manage to avoid having the system "play at me" or sound like a reproduction system; instead, I'm able to get a pretty organic sound that appears from a silent background. Granted, there is considerable variability in different records; but I don't let sonics dictate my preference of listening material. Most of what I'm listening to is small combo jazz on records manufactured in the early-mid '70s, which was a nadir of vinyl production in the U.S. 

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,145 posts
 

It depends on the recording and my mood, but I typically listen in the 70-85dB range.  

When I was younger, and when my system didn’t sound like it does now, I played it much louder to get some sort of a sensation from it.   It had less resolution, more noise, less dynamic contrast , was less coherent, and had a less defined sound stage.  The current system no longer requires that volume level to float my boat, so I typically listen at lower levels.  Once in a while if we have a dedicated listening night, the volume goes up a bit, but I’d be surprised if we ever went over 90dB.

lewm
13,732 posts
 

The gap between 70 and 85 db SPL is huge, which speaks to my point that we have no agreed upon standard for measurement in the first place.  So discussing in terms of SPL is meaningless.

jond's avatar
jond
6,056 posts
 

Small room here I typically listen in the 55-70db range using sensitive speakers and low powered tube amps it's plenty loud for me.

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