[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HugoFreire /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm about to give up on headphones for good. The fear of damaging my hearing any further doesn't allow me to concentrate on the music and enjoy it anymore. I will try my local dealer's Quad 22Ls next week and sell my headphone gear if I like the Quads.

If you dont like the QUADs then your ears may already be broken. They are some STUNNING speakers. They look utterly delicious too.

 

[barshnik]

My ears are already quite shot from (1) age (2) years of working on oil rigs long ago without hearing protection (3) years of hunting / shooting without adequate hearing protection (4) diabetes.

The HF hearing loss works for me in a way, in that beyerdynamic DT-880 and DT-990's sound perfectly flat in treble to me despite their known brightness. After this thread started, I got out my trusty ratshack sound level meter and made a mental note not to exceed 11:00 on the RSL Hornet (86 db measured average) using 'fast' response and 'c' weighting on the meter held against the driver(s).

I use iGain to normalize all albums on my iPod, so there is almost 0 difference from album to album / track to track in max sound level.

86 db is a pleasing level, and should do no more permanant damage I think. Thanks for the reminder how important it is to avoid too high of a level. It may be too late to get good hearing again, but it's not too late to preven further damage.

John F

 

[yourtoys7]

I thought my hearing was ok till reading this thread, but now not shure. I'll be making hearing test apointment, wonder how that'll go....

 

[NelsonVandal]

This is one more reason not to use amplifying stages in headphone amps. The main reason is that especially opamps slaughter the sound quality. You dont need more than unity gain. Just use a buffer stage.

 

[fierce_freak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is EXACTLY why you need to measure. You CANNOT use speakers as a reference by "ear", since, as Autochthon has indicated, what sounds very loud on speakers doesn't sound as loud on headphones, but has the same impact on your ears. 80db on speakers seems really quite loud. 80db on headphones is satisfying, but really doesn't seem "loud".

This is what always worries me. I primarily listen to music with IEMs which I have no way of measuring for SPL. Guess all I can do is listen to as low a volume as I can stand and hope for the best.

 

[braillediver]

I think people who believe they are safe by using the Radio Shack SPL Meter to set listening levels are misleading themselves.

That meter is a toy, inaccurate and the scale isn’t readable to within 3 db. It might be slightly better than nothing but it’s really not any guarantee as to safe listening levels.


Mitch

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think people who believe they are safe by using the Radio Shack SPL Meter to set listening levels are misleading themselves. That meter is a toy, inaccurate and the scale isn’t readable to within 3 db. It might be slightly better than nothing but it’s really not any guarantee as to safe listening levels. Mitch

That isn't true at all. The ANALOG RS meter is quite accurate for this purpose. It's deviances from truly flat are mostly at the frequency extremes, and are well documented - you can even get the corrected values on the web. But that mostly matters if you are trying to measure a specific frequency. For the purpose of measuring overall level for safety, it's certainly within +/-2db, which is PLENTY accurate to determine safe levels. We're concerned here with whether one is listening at 70 db versus 95 db, not whether one is listening at 78 or 80db.

Sounds to me like you're just trying to make yourself feel better for not checking

 

[barshnik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think people who believe they are safe by using the Radio Shack SPL Meter to set listening levels are misleading themselves. That meter is a toy, inaccurate and the scale isn’t readable to within 3 db. It might be slightly better than nothing but it’s really not any guarantee as to safe listening levels. Mitch

There are published correction factors for the ratshack analog meter (even professionals use it to set up multi-speaker systems using reference test tones.)

My digital ratshack meter has been modifed per instructions on the web, and I test-calibrated it against a many multi-thousand dollar SPL meter at my wife's work (environmental scrience at the Nevada Test Site) and is accurate to +-2 db at all freqs from 40 to 14k hz. I didn't test it before the mods, but suspect that it was still pretty darn accurate. Don't know where you got your info - as long as the published correction factors are used for each measured freq, it IS accurate (enough).

John F

 

[Indygreg]

Is it possible to use the ratshack SPL with IEM's? I assume it is not, but wanted to ask

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indygreg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it possible to use the ratshack SPL with IEM's? I assume it is not, but wanted to ask

Nope.

 

[ldj325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nope.

Would it work as a rough estimate to test the SPL with regular HP to get an idea of what perceived sound level is what dB. And then use that perceived reference to estimate the same volume with the IEM volume? I might be a rough estimate, but maybe better than nothing. Or is my reasoning faulty?

 

[Luke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes. You need to couple the SPL meter to the earcup using cardboard, like this: This is right on actually, and since I often listen at lower levels, this is one reason I really like Beyer DT990 and 770 - the rising bass response makes lower-level listening much more fun.

Thanks for this. Does anybody know if there an effective way to check a pair of IEMs, like the Ety ER-4?

 

[darrenmc]

I ride public transit frequently... I am beyond astonished at people who use iBuds on noisy buses/trains... there is simply no way you could be extracting enjoyable musical detail at safe sound levels in such an environment. I particularly like the guys whos iBuds are loud enough for ME to hear!!!

Enjoy your subway music, but BUY IEMs, people, and turn it down! Your hearing is worth $150!! (preaching to the choir here, I know).

I use the e2c, and I have the volume limiter on my iPod at 60% (great idea BTW), and try to stay below 2/3s of that. If you listen to a lot of music, ask yourself if it really needs to be that loud. I listen to heavy metal, and I like it slammin' too, but just get used to the idea of *less* slammin'!

Keep your ears (more or less) for a lifetime!

But on the other hand, don't get paranoid. Your ears are going to get worse as you get older, just like the rest of you, there's nothing you can do about it. Just try not to speed up the decline.

Side note: I never, ever, enter a nightclub/concert without earplugs. Whenever I remove them I am horrified at how loud it is!!!! Anyone in that environment without hearing protection is a fool, period. (of course, I was a fool many times in my youth).

 

[Stunna7516]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darrenmc /img/forum/go_quote.gif I ride public transit frequently... I am beyond astonished at people who use iBuds on noisy buses/trains... there is simply no way you could be extracting enjoyable musical detail at safe sound levels in such an environment. I particularly like the guys whos iBuds are loud enough for ME to hear!!! Enjoy your subway music, but BUY IEMs, people, and turn it down! Your hearing is worth $150!! (preaching to the choir here, I know). I use the e2c, and I have the volume limiter on my iPod at 60% (great idea BTW), and try to stay below 2/3s of that. If you listen to a lot of music, ask yourself if it really needs to be that loud. I listen to heavy metal, and I like it slammin' too, but just get used to the idea of *less* slammin'! Keep your ears (more or less) for a lifetime! But on the other hand, don't get paranoid. Your ears are going to get worse as you get older, just like the rest of you, there's nothing you can do about it. Just try not to speed up the decline. Side note: I never, ever, enter a nightclub/concert without earplugs. Whenever I remove them I am horrified at how loud it is!!!! Anyone in that environment without hearing protection is a fool, period. (of course, I was a fool many times in my youth).

I know hearing is more important than looks and everything but... dont you feel kind of foolish with earplugs in trying to talk to people?

 

[Jahn]

absolutely, it's all about the ambients. if i wear open cans on the subway, i KNOW i'm cranking the tunes way too loud to hear them. even at home when the family is moving about, i have to have the Melos at around 10 O'Clock. But when they're asleep, I can drop the Melos to 7 O'Clock and hear everything perfectly, go figure.