[kombatfreak]

Sound pressure vs. perceived volume

 
Apologies for bumping an old thread - just didn't want to start a new one with many similar topics already.
 
I'm using a high impedance headphone (DT990 / 600) with a portable headphone amplifier (iBasso D4) - usually the volume is set between 12 - 2 o'clock to get a decent perceived volume.  I'm aware the setup may not be ideal -but I'm comfortable with it so far volume-wise.
 
Is there risk of hearing damage from increased sound pressure (sorry if wrong term) from turning up the volume to get to 'normal' perceived volume?  To rephrase the question, are there other hearing damage factors to consider than just making sure your perceived volume isn't too loud?
 
Thanks in advance, sorry if redundant/old/novice question.
 
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

That's good news to me reading this thread, due to EQ'd up a lot bass, I listen to like 65dB mids and highs but when bass kicks in the peak meter reaches like 72 ~ 75dB lol.

 

[ford2]

 
 
 
 
Never ceases to amaze me the number of people who will spend $100's on audio gear but will not invest $40 on a sound meter.
 
Good old Realistic/Radio Shack analogue meter is a must for anyone serious about long term enjoyment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Mr Joboto]

Sigh, maybe I should buy one 

 

[ford2]

 
 
There is an analogue and digital one by Radio Shack,the analogue I find the best.

 

[Head Injury]

I think next time I find myself near Radioshack (which is never, but!) I'll get one. I've sunk $800 into the hobby already, so I agree that $40 is nothing. And who knows, I could be listening twice as loud as I am safely and I just don't know it.

 

[peterinvan]

The Am. Med. Assoc. states that prolonged exposure to noise at or above 90 decibels will damage hearing, especially high pitched noise (high pitched is not defined as to frequency, but assume 3-5,000 Hz). Hearing loss is cumulative, so someone can be hearing really loud music now and exposed over a period of time, may seemingly not have any damage. But, in years to come the damage will catch up with them causing problems as they grow older.

Moderation in sound levels when you are young should lead to the enjoyment of music for many years.

I had a poor reaction to a pair of HD800s I recently bought.  
Background... I damaged my ears about 12 years ago testing some tweeters in a DIY speaker project.  I have had a low level ringing in my ears at around 7500 Hz since then.  
 
In burning in the HD800s, I used my Centrance HiFi M8, as well as a Meridian Explorer/EL84 tube amp.  Listening at fairly high volumes. 
 
The harshness of the HD800s was painful.  The worst was the tambourine on "High Life" from Jazz at the Pawnshop.  I tried a -10db notch at 7500Hz, but that reduced the dynamics and SQ too much.
 
The harshness on the HD800s diminished at about 80 hours burn-in, but did not disappear.  For example on jazz piano tracks, the high notes on the piano still sounded like they were being struck with a steel hammer, instead of a felt hammer.
 
I have enjoyed my LCD-2F for a year now, with no annoying sibilance, or exacerbation of my tinnitus.
 
Doing A/B testing of the HD800s against my LCD-2F, after a few listening hours the ringing in my ears got worse and I developed a low level headache each time I tried the HD800.  After 100 hours of  burn-in, I returned the HD800s.  However a week later the increased ringing remains.  Now I listen to my headphones at very low volumes, and hope the tinnitus diminishes again.

 

[RandomUsername]

I guess this thread has been revived? I have had a problem hearing people in (more or less) noisy environments for a while. I'm using ATH-M50x headphones and a Fiio E10 DAC, but the volume is usually very low. What do you guys recommend? Should I cut back on my headphone usage? Visit a doctor? Maybe my ears just need to be cleaned

 

[Gavin C4]

hearing at loud volumes will definitely damage your hearing. It is not related to what headphone you are using. You can be using a 10dollar earbud or headphone cranking up the volume and listen to it for a long period of time. It will eventually damage your hearing.
 
The best way to listen to headphone should be in a quite environment with little ambient noise so you do not to excessively increase the volume.

 

[RandomUsername]

Like I said, I don't listen at high volumes.I was just wondering if listening at low volumes for a long time can affect your hearing as well.

 

[Dioradio]

It should be noted that everyone's ears are different, as is the tendency to actually damage them. Some people have progressive hearing loss through life, regardless of if they worked in a loud factory w/o hearing protection for 25 years or stood 15' away from stacks of Marshalls while bouncing unruly fans back into the crowd or not. There are little old ladies that are near deaf and they never were exposed to loud volumes other than maybe vacuum cleaners and blenders.
 
I had 98 SPL and I believe 123 SPL headphones in the early 90's, coupled to a late 70's stereo amp that had active loudness and a bass pot that was ahead of it's time. I listened to very early 90's rap, and it was listened to loudly. I kept the midrange pot low, and treble high, and packed the cups, which allowed the headphones to get louder w/o crackling on heavy bass. I'd listen to hours and hours on end like that, from 14-17 years old. 
 
My cars have had plenty of louder stereo systems with multiple external amplifiers, but again I avoid too much midrange frequencies and avoid getting into ear-ringing levels (which the earlier headphones could do easily on rock music) and I just turned 38 and can still hear 16khz test tones. Bass, I can easily hear 20hz from an un-EQ'd source, whether talking 15" paper woofers or cans. On EQ'd home amps w/o a bunch of roll-off and loudness on, I can hear sub 20hz on cans, but it's obviously not an accurate bass signal and very slow, but still has a bass-like sound down to 8-10hz.
 
If at all worried, get tested yearly for hearing loss. I don't quite agree that bass by itself is more destructive to ears vs. say 2.5khz at insane levels. But hey, maybe I'm an exception, who knows.