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The "correct" volume?
#299588 03/31/10 02:29 AM
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Has anyone noticed that when playing back music that every source has a "correct" volume?

By that I mean, the sweet spot.

Increase the volume just 1 more and it becomes too loud and blaring, decrease it 1 less (than the sweet spot) and you can't quite achieve lift-off. Not enough "grunt factor" to rock out (or jazz out or symphony out or country out or...) with.

It seems that each "source" has a perfect volume that varies.

Or is this just me?


"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."
---Frank Zappa

Re: The "correct" volume?
audiosavant #299594 03/31/10 02:49 AM
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It is just you and your room ;\)

I have noticed that some source material does sound better at different volumes than others. Most likely those recording engineers having some fun at our expense ;\)


Jason
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Re: The "correct" volume?
jakewash #299606 03/31/10 03:18 AM
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I would look at it more in the sense of the variations in the quality of the recording(s) itself rather than volume playback (though that varies as well). Music recordings have such inconsistent quality in this regards across genres.


I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.

-Max Payne
Re: The "correct" volume?
audiosavant #299607 03/31/10 03:20 AM
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There may be a sweet spot, but it varies according to mood, and also according to how loudly you've been listening lately.

Have you ever started up your car and couldn't believe how loudly you were listening to the stereo the last time you were in your car? Your ear/brain unit adjusts to loudness over time.

Re: The "correct" volume?
pmbuko #299611 03/31/10 03:50 AM
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Yes, when I start my car up to go home from work I usually find I was blasting it in the morning to wake me up.


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
Re: The "correct" volume?
pmbuko #299619 03/31/10 05:21 AM
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 Originally Posted By: pmbuko
There may be a sweet spot, but it varies according to mood,


BINGO!

After 4 glasses of wine and the ingestion of a cannabis cigarette...

... and I shall call it: "The Grunt Factor Threshold".

Sorta like achieving the correct speed to get airborne...

(results may vary)


"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."
---Frank Zappa

Re: The "correct" volume?
audiosavant #299620 03/31/10 05:44 AM
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Just make sure that you have about 4 different “brands” of cigarette. With a different mix of the good stuff in each brand you can stay airborne at a higher altitude longer, or so I've heard. ;\)

While results may vary they are usually very good. \:\)

Back on topic yes I find that different sources each have a volume that sounds just right a bit to high or low and it just doesn’t sound right.



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Re: The "correct" volume?
grunt #299638 03/31/10 12:36 PM
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Some types of music beg to be played louder, like most Rock music. Playing Foreigner, Zeppelin, Doors ect at lower volumes just seems to lose some of the ambiance or power. On the other hand, I generally prefer to listen to acoustic music at a little more moderate levels, James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Lightfoot, Dylan, Young ect.


Half of communication is listening. You can't listen with your mouth.
Re: The "correct" volume?
audiosavant #299656 03/31/10 03:28 PM
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Hi audiosavant and all,

Yes, mood and previous listening levels all play a big role (as well as ingestion of various liquids or substances), but individually there is quite a range of how we describe subjective levels of loudness.

In past listening experiments at Canada's National Research Council with a number of colleagues, I found their preferred levels were about 3 dB louder than what I liked, so I'd move back to the second row of chairs.

Not to re-direct this thread, but another interesting aspect I've found over the years is that if you are buzzed on whatever, you tend to lose critical faculties and tolerate really degraded sound quality or crappy speakers.

I never do critical product listening tests at Axiom if I've ingested anything other than food or coffee.

Cheers!
Alan


Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)
Re: The "correct" volume?
alan #299658 03/31/10 03:50 PM
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I can't seem to listen to music as loud as I use to since a bad incident with tinnitus a few years ago. I am now very careful with volume levels for sustained periods as well as wearing hearing protection around loud tools or machinery ex. chainsaws. When I start to feel "a fullness" in the ears, I don't mess around anymore.


I’m armed and I’m drinking. You don’t want to listen to advice from me, amigo.

-Max Payne
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