[BrianS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRBJackson Louder than Jasper994, softer than Ray Samuels I was absolutely flabbergasted at the volume that some folks were listening to equipment at the national meet.

would you rather say wow this component sucks at low volume as you are hearing people all around you or go crank it up "im here for a reason -- to enjoy it for 10 minutes"

 

[hembergler]

I find that I also listen to volume at low levels. I like to be able to hear what's around me: phone, someone calling me, etc. Also, it gives you more room to crank up the volume on your favorite guitar solo.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 Ya know what makes me mad? I'm sittin' there with my wife watchin' TV, and the voices sound great through our home Theater speakers, then something transmitted thru high def cable on dolby digital, like the music or sound effects comes across about 85db louder than the voices!! And I say to myself: "Why do I listen to music through my cans at such a low level to protect my precious hearing so that I can continue to listen far into the future!" Seriously... ...actually, I Was being serious.....I do want to protect my hearing!!!

You should always watch movies with your receiver set to 'Night' mode, that way it will never have the high decible spikes in 'big' scenes. You can keep the volume raised to hear speech, but it won't get incredibly loud with car chases and explosions. This assumes you are listening in Dolby Digital. If you are listening in analogue, you only way around is to keep your hand on the remote to react to those parts, or see if your TV has an 'auto volume' setting, that will help out with large variations in sound levels. Feed that output into your receiver. I do that with my Sony TV and DPL receiver, works decently for cable.

 

[MacGyver]

I listen to the music at a volume that lets me discern all the details of the music... This ends up being pretty loud most of the time, especially on lower-quality recordings. Also, on lower quality headphones I end up turning the volume louder than I would on my better cans, since the higher quality stuff reveals more detail at lower volumes.

 

[flamerz]

I usually listen to my music fairly quietly, but sometimes when there's a song I'm really getting into, or if I have to strain to hear certain details, I turn it up. Also, if I'm listening to open phones with loud background noise, I usually turn them up enough to drown most of it out, or until I hear distortion.

 

[feh1325]

it depends on the recording

i notice that "modern music" recordings are louder than the "older" recordings of
queen, pink floyd, the beatles, etc

so the measurements above are not accurate...except for tilt's

 

[VR6ofpain]

Most of the time I like to listen at a very low volume too. The only times I go louder, is if I want to really get into a sound, where I'll turn it up just for one or two tracks. The interesting thing is I usually start with it at a reasonable level, but will later adjust it down a tad, then a little more (over long listening sessions, >2 hour). It seems if I listen for over 30 minutes I end up lowering it a little, then if I go for a full hour, I lower it further. It is almost like my ears get used to the level and want it lower. The funny things is I do this at the office, even with the ambient noise coming through my KSC35's.

Kramer's comment about getting an amp over the channel imbalance is hilarious. When I am at home listening over my Gilmore Lite and K601's it is not a problem (probably from the higher impedence), but with my Gilmore and HF-1 and sometimes have to adjust it just over the point where it becomes balance, because I want them to be at a lower level. I have this exact same problem with my KSC35's through my portable radio. When I am listening to talk radio or this one station's jazz program, I usually knock the volume down a bit, but I find I'll hit the channel imbalance point with the radio. I don't usually have this problem with listening to rock stations, probably because I turn it up a little.

Great topic and discussion.

 

[mrarroyo]

When I listen to the KSC-75 I purchased at Radio Shack (have the volume control) straight out of my iPod the volume is at about 40%.

Dave, with regards to the PAV2 I see 4 options:
-Send it back to Gary to lower the gain.
-Put a 75 ohm resistor on both left/right channel going to the headphone.
-Get a higher impedence can (Senn HD600)
-Hook the PAV2 out of the iPod headphone and lower the volume out of the iPod

 

[iancraig10]

I change my headphones according to what I'm listening to. I find that this allows me to listen to most things at low volume leves and still get lots of clarity.

Voice (radio) - MS1
Jazz/Classical - Beyer DT880
Rock/Pop - Beyer DT770
Piano/Glassy recordings - Senn 650

With these combos, I can get clarity on most things at low volume levels.

However, occasionally I treat myself.

Ian

 

[warrior05]

i find with a good source and nicely detailed cans, listening at a relatively low volume makes me focus on the music more and i find it very enjoyable. i'll occasionally pump up the volume with some of the blues and rock songs i listen to but even then i don't go that high because if i do, my ears just kind of clamp down and i lose being able to hear detail.

 

[Skylab]

In general, at 75db average / 80-82 db peaks, A Weighted, as measured with an RS SPL meter.

 

[aerius]

I stick the average level at around 60-65dB, with my Grados this is about 1-2 out of 10 on my Walkman or Discman. I've had to drop the gain on my amps to around 2 or 3 to avoid channel imbalance, except my K340 amp because that headphone is a retardedly inefficient load.

 

[drarthurwells]

Adjusting the volume is critical for me.

Too much gain and you get a forward presentation - up front and in-your-face sound.

This has a "whizz-bang" appeal to many but is not what I want since it compresses the sound stage (particularly fore to aft, making for a shorter distance between near and far instruments). This is like using a telephoto lens.

Cutting the gain some brings the near-far perspective into proper relief. I want distance instruments to sound far back, but close instruments to sound close in front of me (but not too close and in my face). This should be enough to allow the tones to "bloom" in a full timbre, but not unnaturally so. Also, hearing will likely not be damaged if headphone-listening is less than 2 hours at atime.

Those headphone-listening for more than 2 hours at a time should reduce the gain even more.

 

[iancraig10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells Adjusting the volume is critical for me. This has a "whizz-bang" appeal to many but is not what I want since it compresses the sound stage (particularly fore to aft, making for a shorter distance between near and far instruments). This is like using a telephoto lens. Cutting the gain some brings the near-far perspective into proper relief. I want distance instruments to sound far back, but close instruments to sound close in front of me (but not too close and in my face). This should be enough to allow the tones to "bloom" in a full timbre, but not unnaturally so. Also, hearing will likely not be damaged if headphone-listening is less than 2 hours at atime.

What an excellent description. I must listen more closely for soundstage. Thanks.

Ian

 

[sidewinder]

Senn 435 and Koss KSC75 on Philips AZ6831: volume 8 (out of 10). Weird source, cause lowering to 7 or 6 makes it a LOT more quiet and actually not fun to listen to at all.

With portable amp and line out: 7 to 8 o'clock (and volume 8 on player).

Should be around 80-85 dB I guess.