bigshot
Headphoneus Supremus
No, the problem is the peaks. To raise the noise floor up, you have to also raise up the peaks. 80dB is as loud as most people will tolerate. Above that, you can't take it for long periods of time. A live rock concert might have louder peaks but those are mistakes by the mixer. Also, in order to raise your noise floor up to audible levels, you need to raise it an additional amount to get above your environmental noise floor. This applies to headphones too. Add 20dB for your headphones or IEMs on top of 96dB for a CD and you are getting into the territory of threshold of pain, where you can't tolerate it for even a few seconds. Above that is hearing damage. And yes, it is very easy to damage your hearing with IEMs. The fact is, most commercially recorded music is designed for a 40dB dynamic range. The most dynamic music only exceeds that by 15dB or so. You just don't need 96dB.
If you have a SPL meter, try turning a speaker system up above 80dB. You'll find out what the numbers actually mean.
If you have a SPL meter, try turning a speaker system up above 80dB. You'll find out what the numbers actually mean.
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