[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma What profession? Sign-language teacher? Audiologist? Hearing aid technician?

I'm thinking about a "full service" joint-venture.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver I'm thinking about a "full service" joint-venture.

Maybe the best is to own a club in the basement and your "full service" for the freshly hearing impaired at the floor above.

 

[TLC]

Went out to an event with the kids (young adults, actually) a few days ago. Really hadn't done that in many years. It wasn't live - just recorded. Played some tracks I knew very, very well (every note), but with the bass all the way up. Completely ruined the dynamics. The venue probably had dynamic range extending from a whisper into the threshold of pain, but they squished everything into the space of 105-110db. It was a new and very unpleasant way to renew my familiarity with some tracks. All that power, so little control.

Later, I asked them what they thought of the audio. Both kids said it was great. Maybe a bit loud, but they had no other issues. Odd, considering they both heard my audio crap for years growing up. It is a bit sensational when your clothing actually vibrates and you feel punched in the chest, but I will be sure to bring hearing protection next time, and encourage the kids to use it.

TC

 

[AdamWill]

35dB sounds about right for a normal room with no obvious sound of noise, but I'm surprised you find it truly silent - or maybe you didn't stop to listen? 35dB is an easily audible noise level. Probably that's the noise of a fan in another room, or a fridge a few yards away, maybe an XBox...

A really quiet room would be under 20dB at least, but 35dB is entirely believable in a regular room.

 

[bjackson]

I believe that theaters are actually calibrated (or should be) to Dolby standards and theaters should be the same level everywhere.

I do love big loud sound in theaters, I've measured them before and they are only around 70-80 db normally with peaks in 105-110 for only a few seconds.

 

[Jahn]

How come I'm the first head-fier to say this?

"Santa, you brought a Rat Shack db meter to a club and took samples during a party? You are DA MAN!"

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn How come I'm the first head-fier to say this? "Santa, you brought a Rat Shack db meter to a club and took samples during a party? You are DA MAN!"

It was dark, so nobody seemed to really notice what I was doing. Oh sure, a few people looked at me with quizzical faces, but that happens a lot when I go to (almost) all Jamaican parties.

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn How come I'm the first head-fier to say this? "Santa, you brought a Rat Shack db meter to a club and took samples during a party? You are DA MAN!"

Jahn...you beat me to it...but you forgot to add:

"I wanna party with you!"

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenhorn Or wouldn't just sticking a pair of Etymotic or Shure triflanges in the ears have the same effect? Just the triflanges, without the phones.

it's the filter that does the attenuation, not the triflange. sticking your canalphones into your ears in loud environments (the triflange attached to the canalphones, not just the triflange) helps a lot when you just want to block out loud sounds, but it doesn't have the same kind of flat attenuation profile that the ER-20s have, so it won't work all that well if you want to listen while also protecting your hearing.

 

[JeffS]

I just have to ask one question in all of this.

How good is the Radio Shack SPL meter?

I always thought about pick one up, and just noticed that the RadioShack one
isn't very expensive. Is it worth getting, or would it be better to shop around
for something better?

Sadly, I'm semi inspired to drag it to bars with live music and check out the
sound levels. Damn you headfi for giving me ideas...

-Jeff

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS I just have to ask one question in all of this. How good is the Radio Shack SPL meter? I always thought about pick one up, and just noticed that the RadioShack one isn't very expensive. Is it worth getting, or would it be better to shop around for something better? Sadly, I'm semi inspired to drag it to bars with live music and check out the sound levels. Damn you headfi for giving me ideas... -Jeff

The radio shack meter is OK for basic use to determine relative noise levels....if taken with a grain of salt.

Good meters are designed to take much more of a beating, and require periodic calibration with a standard to maintain their accuracy. I am not aware of anything Radio Shack sells to help keep your device calibrated. Therefore, over time it's accuracy will drift.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS How good is the Radio Shack SPL meter?

Best $40 I've ever spent in the audio hobby. It works fine, so there would be no need to get anything better unless you need it for professional purposes, and if that's the case, I'm not sure what to recommend.

Quote:

Sadly, I'm semi inspired to drag it to bars with live music and check out the sound levels.

That is sad! What kind of person would do that?

 

[petery83]

Thanks for the reminder! I just placed an order for a pair of ER-20s earlier today after seeing this thread

 

[fureshi]

i remember going clubbing one time with my friends in taipei (MOS) and my friends laughed at the fact that i was wearing ear plugs. one girl even mentioned that it wasn't loud enough for her and here i was with my foam ear plugs thinking that even with the ear plugs, it was still really loud.

i think i was the only person that night that left the club without my ears ringing.

 

[jlo mein]

Always have my ER20's on my keychain for clubbing or shows, and convinced my gf too. It's simply too loud. I remember this past New Years Eve party (at PURE nightclub in Burnaby for anyone local), and when on the dance floor, this one DJ had it so loud that I could see some people trying to cover their ears during certain loud parts. I honestly felt sorry for them when my gf and I had our plugs in and were fine.

One time I tried to convince an aquaintance to use ER20's at shows (he sees rock bands often). It seems like the general public concensus is that the hearing loss is only temporary, ie: the 2-3 day period you experience ringing. I tried to convince this guy that permanent loss will occur in the future but he didn't believe me. He also was not interested in spending an enormous $15CDN on ER20's. I think the general public shares the beliefs that this guy does.

I think in Canada sound levels at concerts or clubs should be regulated by the federal government. We have public health care that our tax dollars pay for, and in a few years these people are going to be using it for their hearing loss. A preventative measure should be taken now to stop venues from having such loud environments.