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What decibel level do you listen at?

poor grammer on the question, I know, but I recently downloaded the SPL Meter app for my iPhone and I am shocked by how low the volume level actually is when I listen to music.

I thought I was normally listening at high SPL levels, but I have found that at about 85 it's too loud to think (when it reads 65, you can't talk to someone else in the room). I checked it against my real SPL Meter and the readings are pretty accurate.

I thought I was listening at about 90+ dbl on average, but I have discovered it's actually about 60 to 75 db, and that actually seems loud to me. I guess I'm happy about that, but does anyone else check the Decibel level, and what's considered "Reference Level"?
macdadtexas
mcondo
199 posts
 
Jax2 - how do you use the RTA from Studio Six? I have the lite version and it is pretty useless but I think their Iphone/IPad apps might be good for room set up, etc. I just don't know how to use them. Feel free to provide detail if you have the time.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Jax2 - how do you use the RTA from Studio Six?

I use pink noise from one of the Stereophile discs to measure in-room response. You can freeze the graph and get it to yield a fixed set of measurements. I transfer those to a simple excel spreadsheet and turn that into a graph in Excel. You can overlap various samples to compare (various speakers, or different locations, etc.)
learsfool
1,215 posts
 
Musicnoise, just saw your post here - I would say you are absolutely right. When I mentioned decibel levels of 120 in a concert hall, I am thinking more along the lines of pops concerts where we are playing just as loudly as in Tchaik 6 AND there are the electronic instruments involved, and everything is absurdly amplified. Though I would guess that the orchestra unamplified easily reaches 110 in say a Mahler symphony, such as the ending of Mahler 2 with the organ blaring and chorus wailing away as well. As you say, the peaks seems even louder than they are because of the contrasts with the softest passages. Also the level onstage is probably even higher than in the first row. I am now curious, and will have to measure sometime. Unfortunately that will have to wait until next season, as we are done with both the symphonic series and the indoor pops for this season, but I will try to remember to do that and report back.
hevac1
812 posts
 
It is different with every song never mind every record. I turn it up until it sounds best to me.
jfz
570 posts
 
Excellent posts by many; esp. Almarg and Musicnoise, IMHO. My answer is "it varies" - with the music, the dynamic range, my mood, the quality of the recording, and on and on. One thing I don't think has been mentioned (although I didn't read each post closely): the noise of one's system and environment is another factor, at least it is for me. I have a very quiet system and environment, so I may listen at lower levels than some do (I haven't checked w/an SPL meter).
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