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SE530 users-how loud do you listen?

post #1 of 19
3/6/10 at 10:05pm
Thread Starter 
After reading a few threads on hearing damage from listening to headphones over 85 dB for extended periods (usually longer than 8 hours), I have become very interested in how loud my Shure SE-530s are playing.

The trouble is, using SPL meters like the radio shack version on IEM's are not very accurate. Us Shure users (and most IEM users for that matter) are left with no way to objectively tell how loud the IEM's are.

So, we can do the next best thing, and see what other users do: On your Ipod, how loud do you listen to your SE-530's on average?

For the sake of keeping variables to a minimum, only Ipod users comment, and let's say the SE-530's are plugged directly into the ipod (without the Shure inline volume limiter, or amp).

I'll go first:
95% of the time when I'm listening, I have the volume bar all the way to the left, in the 0-5% range. I find the SE-530's plenty loud at this range.
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post #2 of 19
3/6/10 at 10:36pm
It also depends on which version of the iPod you are using.

Quote:
Us Shure users are left with no way to objectively tell how loud the IEM's are.
Does this not apply to all headphone users?
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post #3 of 19
3/6/10 at 10:42pm
Well, since I started using them I have been cranking the volume a bit higher due to hearing loss. I use the volume control and i put it up to around 80% but then i keep the volume just under that so figure i usually listen at about 70-75% most of the time. In would guess that this is the norm since they aren't very loud phones at all.
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post #4 of 19
3/6/10 at 10:48pm
i listen to my se530s around 70-80% unamped for me too with ipod 7 genaration , 40% with my ipod 5 generation
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post #5 of 19
3/6/10 at 10:56pm
^ If I listened to the SE530 at anything approaching that volume I'd rupture my eardrums. The SE530 is the most efficient of my IEMs, so I listen to it at a lower volume setting than the others. The volume bar is about a quarter of the way in on the ipod touch.
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post #6 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:13pm
maybe 45 to 50% give or take...so long as I can stand to have them in my ears.
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post #7 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:21pm
Quote:
95% of the time when I'm listening, I have the volume bar all the way to the left, in the 0-5% range. I find the SE-530's plenty loud at this range.
I dont get it? You set the volume at 5%? How the hell can you listen to music with 5% volume level?

I dont know. I dont have that Shure nor any iPod. I use CK7 w/ iPhone 3GS and I normally set the volume at 75-80%.

iPhone volume is pretty low compared to iPod, AFAIK.
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post #8 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SillyHoney View Post
I dont get it? You set the volume at 5%? How the hell can you listen to music with 5% volume level?
.
Well first of all these are incredibly sound isolating headphones, and I just don't listen on buses/cars; I almost always listen in quiet rooms, especially when I study with them in the library for 8 hours straight.

Second, just because its 5% on the Ipod doesn't mean that's incredibly quiet. If I were to give you my 7G Ipod with the SE-530's, you'd probably say this level is slightly louder than a conversation.

I'd guess that was 70-75 dB, but there's almost no way to find out. It could even be 80 dB for all I know.
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post #9 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:46pm
umm..arent the shure se530 pretty efficient? i don't have the se530 but i've had previous shures and they did not go very high on the dap to be loud enough to be damaging to my ear.
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post #10 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by big_sound View Post
Well, since I started using them I have been cranking the volume a bit higher due to hearing loss. I use the volume control and i put it up to around 80% but then i keep the volume just under that so figure i usually listen at about 70-75% most of the time. In would guess that this is the norm since they aren't very loud phones at all.
You should make sure you have a good seal with the foam your using.

I don't know how you can bear that. For me at least, it starts getting painful around the 50% mark on the Ipod.
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post #11 of 19
3/6/10 at 11:49pm
not even taking to account different devices, why this will vary pretty widely:

-where you're listening: even in relatively quieter areas, you may use different volume settings (i.e. office vs bedroom)

-accomodation: your ears adjust and get used to hearing at quieter/louder settings if that's the way you always listen

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post #12 of 19
3/7/10 at 12:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cicatrez879 View Post
95% of the time when I'm listening, I have the volume bar all the way to the left, in the 0-5% range. I find the SE-530's plenty loud at this range.
I'm also pretty close to your volume range. With a 3G ipod Nano, I'm usually at 10-20%- and that is by no means a quiet volume. Going past 40% would seriously hurt. With Grados SR225 I usually have the volume closer to 70-80% for the same loudness, so the low range is definitely because of the very high sensitivity of the SE530s and to a smaller degree because of their isolation.
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post #13 of 19
3/7/10 at 12:10am
Pardon me for asking, but how is it that everyone here is listening past 50% volume with their SE530s? I have the SE210s and I listen at the lowest volume level of my iPod and my Sansa Clip. Even five ticks above the lowest volume on the Clip and my ears are burning from the noise.

Is it because the SE530 requires more power and volume to get to the same level as the SE210, hence the amps? If not, how are you able to listen at those volumes without pain?
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post #14 of 19
3/7/10 at 12:14am
habitually tense stapedius & tensor tympani muscles, i bet
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post #15 of 19
3/7/10 at 12:14am
I always thought that if you're properly isolated the volume you use in a quiet room would equal the volume you use on a bus/car. At least that's the case with me and my marshmallows. I have the beatles on 50% no matter where I am.
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