On symphony orchestra classical music, Mike, what is your typical SPL range and SPL peak?
At What SPL Do You Listen to Your Stereo?
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On symphony orchestra classical music, Mike, what is your typical SPL range and SPL peak?
Last night, on the AudioTools SPL app on the iPhone, I used the C weighting.
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answered on post #20
i just streamed a 96/24 file of Karajan's Beethoven's 5th, 1st movement. pushed it beyond my normal orchestral level a notch or two.....to where i might go if i'm cranking it.
of course, orchestral has very wide dynamic swings, but i'm getting 65db--80db mainly, with swells into mid to high 80db range, then peaks 90db-96db.
if i was playing the LZ box 45rpm disc of "In My Time of Dying" for Ked or jazdoc maybe i'd go a touch higher. but not much. the room is very live, and the energy holds well, and the music gets very physical.
vocals and horns actually have higher peaks than orchestral, but they don't sustain like stadium rock or orchestral. maybe big band massed horns or opera vocals might be the highest peaks other than a separate drum whack. live jazz club vinyl horns show me the highest peaks on my amp read outs.......when there are no limiters in the chain.
in my system i can enjoy orchestral and feel engaged keeping it in the 70db's mostly, peaks mid to high 80's, and listen basically forever.....all day long. my mainstay is small combo classical and that's more in the 65db to 75db range. and it grabs me fully.....the whole room is energized so it's not shouty and distorted and unbalanced.
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Average somewhere between 72 and 74 dB. Depends on the material. The Boulez Mahler 3 CD layer (DG) peaks at 105 dB with 72 dB or so average. Terrific recording.
iPhone 12 mini, Decibel X app, ITU-R 468 weighting.
iPhone 12 mini, Decibel X app, ITU-R 468 weighting.
My room is very quiet, system on no music I'm at 18 to 22db pending time of day.
Listening levels averages between 68 - 76db with peaks up to 84db.
Listening levels averages between 68 - 76db with peaks up to 84db.
I do what I reasonably can to ensure I'm listening near/at live performance volume levels regardless of genre. This includes first doing everything I reasonably can to drastically lower my playback system's noise floor otherwise there's no point listening at volume levels approaching the live performance. Then again, what's the point of listening at lower than live performance volume levels?
Now that I think about it, I find that my volume setting usually remains roughly the same level almost regardless of recording such that it's actually the recording volume level + genre that greatly influences the actual decibel levels I'm listening to.
If I thought I needed to listen at volume levels much lower than live performance volume levels I'd find another passion to pursue because there's really nothing very realistic to what I or anybody else would be listening to.
I think some are completely missing the boat of high-end audio when they listen at levels significantly lower than live performance volume levels because there will always be volumes of music info embedded in the recording that will not remain audible at the speaker when volume is lowered. That should be a fact. Starting with much of the magic of the live performance and embedded in most any recording i.e. much of the live peformance's ambient info (which I'm convinced is also the lowest of all low-level detail), the next up the ladder to become inaudible would be the many little nuances, etc. For example. A soft ting of a small triangle during a live performance is still live performance volume levels. Why would I not want to hear that?
And yet, it seems many of these same lower-volume listening types will snub their noses at in-room recordings as though it is inferior to lowered volume levels when they are both inferior. In fact, I'd venture that lowered listening volume levels is inferior to in-room recordings because in-room recording will capture/retain much of this lowest of all low-level detail that lowered volumes levels cannot retain because they are inaudible.
Not to mention the potentially tremendous enjoyment potential if one were able to listen at volume levels closer to the live performance. Think full-monty here. Everything suffers as the volume level goes down. Everything.
Now that I think about it, I find that my volume setting usually remains roughly the same level almost regardless of recording such that it's actually the recording volume level + genre that greatly influences the actual decibel levels I'm listening to.
If I thought I needed to listen at volume levels much lower than live performance volume levels I'd find another passion to pursue because there's really nothing very realistic to what I or anybody else would be listening to.
I think some are completely missing the boat of high-end audio when they listen at levels significantly lower than live performance volume levels because there will always be volumes of music info embedded in the recording that will not remain audible at the speaker when volume is lowered. That should be a fact. Starting with much of the magic of the live performance and embedded in most any recording i.e. much of the live peformance's ambient info (which I'm convinced is also the lowest of all low-level detail), the next up the ladder to become inaudible would be the many little nuances, etc. For example. A soft ting of a small triangle during a live performance is still live performance volume levels. Why would I not want to hear that?
And yet, it seems many of these same lower-volume listening types will snub their noses at in-room recordings as though it is inferior to lowered volume levels when they are both inferior. In fact, I'd venture that lowered listening volume levels is inferior to in-room recordings because in-room recording will capture/retain much of this lowest of all low-level detail that lowered volumes levels cannot retain because they are inaudible.
Not to mention the potentially tremendous enjoyment potential if one were able to listen at volume levels closer to the live performance. Think full-monty here. Everything suffers as the volume level goes down. Everything.
Those SPLs seem a bit low compared to what I measured at our local venue C-weighted, which runs about 10 dB higher than A-weighted. As I recall the background level with no music was ~80 dB C-weighted and music was 95 - 117 dB. Granted this was for Taiko drums, but what surprised me was the background level, as I usually listen at 75 - 80 dB C-weighted with the iPhone app. While the background measured "loud", it did not seem that loud at all.
Orchestral: 95-97 dB peaks, occasionally 100 dB (C-weighted)
Jazz and rock: mostly 85-90 dB, peaks 95 dB
Measured with Reed SPL meter, factory calibrated
(I wouldn't trust an iPhone app, BTW)
Jazz and rock: mostly 85-90 dB, peaks 95 dB
Measured with Reed SPL meter, factory calibrated
(I wouldn't trust an iPhone app, BTW)
I agree, but I thought it would be a bit "much" to wave my Reed around at Walt Disney Concert Hall!
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+1
My personal high-end audio objective primarily is: 4) create a sound that seems live.
Unfortunately for my hearing this means listening pretty darn loudly.
I quite identify with this preference, in that I wish the time spent listening to recorded material to be as close and lifelike a corporeal event as possible given the obvious impediments , For my part I rarely if ever out of choice listen to background levels of music reproduction preferring to plan anything from an hour to an evening as an event rather than as an incidental.
Indeed. However, the above dB values (dBc, C-weigted) that I mentioned are usually quite a bit higher than the dBa (A-weighted) values that I measure with the same Reed SPL meter.
I go by those A-weighted ones as I judge my noise exposure against the A-weighted values that are recommended as limits by NIOSH. I am pretty safe there. Their guide lines also depend on exposure time. I usually do not listen more than 2 hours at loud levels, and when loud listening is spread over a day it does not exceed 3-4 hours total. I also take a break after a loud jazz album, and if I listen to a whole rock album loudly, this is always on a day where my listening hours are limited to 2 hours max.
Furthermore, my system is balanced to an in-room roll off in the highs (sounds more realistic to me), which also lowers the danger of excessive exposure to the frequencies that the ear is most impacted by in terms of noise sensitivity.
In live concerts the levels can still be considerably louder than the levels at home. Just a few days ago I experienced this again at the Boston Symphony, with Tchaikovsky Symphony #5 in row J in front of the orchestra.
I agree, but I thought it would be a bit "much" to wave my Reed around at Walt Disney Concert Hall!
Yes, I would not take a Reed to the Symphony either. I do have a smaller dedicated SPL meter which is off by an average of 4 dBa (too high) compared to my Reed, and I would take that to the concert and do the estimated back calculation against the Reed afterwards.
Thanks for the helpful recommendation of the Reed, Ron!
When I’m doing simple pink noise A weighted 80 db
Is loud to me not offensive but to me
Much louder then when I play music
now when playing music at a realistic volume
A weighed DB can hit 90 db peaks or close
music if not compressed is not constant in SPL
so to me how loud a classical concert hall is not the same as a jazz club being smaller and most likely have a PA as well.
I like small venue clubs and at one years back I was near the orchestra pit drummer right there in front of us. I did not use a phone to measure loudness but I did have to use ear plugs
Is loud to me not offensive but to me
Much louder then when I play music
now when playing music at a realistic volume
A weighed DB can hit 90 db peaks or close
music if not compressed is not constant in SPL
so to me how loud a classical concert hall is not the same as a jazz club being smaller and most likely have a PA as well.
I like small venue clubs and at one years back I was near the orchestra pit drummer right there in front of us. I did not use a phone to measure loudness but I did have to use ear plugs
Exactly, Ron. And you bring up a good point. What ought a sound that seems live sound like during a playback presentation? I certainly don't want a sound that seems like it's live in my listening room and I doubt anybody else would either. But if the playback presenation sounded live from a perspective of the venue in which the performance was recorded, then I'd think we'd all be for it.
But yes, I personally see no point in high-end audio if we don't even have live sound at least as a target on the wall.
What’s might be missing in this thought ?
moat recordings ha e a sweet spot in how loud to make them sound well. all can be played low 60 db
But beyond this many recordings have a vol that makes them sound right.
too loud can be harsh but too low and some audio cues might get lost
Low level details , ambient sounds to me need a given min vol where if too loud the cues may be effectively over exaggerated.
man example Stevie ray von has an album studio made of too loud you can hear the amp hum
but just a bit lower not so and you still here the studio effects. how close we sit has a large effect on loudness as well this changes dynamics. audio cues change with out seat position.
while I sit 9 feet back just 1 foot closer changes things largely same if 10 feet back. so I think a near-field setup might yield a variance on loudness
moat recordings ha e a sweet spot in how loud to make them sound well. all can be played low 60 db
But beyond this many recordings have a vol that makes them sound right.
too loud can be harsh but too low and some audio cues might get lost
Low level details , ambient sounds to me need a given min vol where if too loud the cues may be effectively over exaggerated.
man example Stevie ray von has an album studio made of too loud you can hear the amp hum
but just a bit lower not so and you still here the studio effects. how close we sit has a large effect on loudness as well this changes dynamics. audio cues change with out seat position.
while I sit 9 feet back just 1 foot closer changes things largely same if 10 feet back. so I think a near-field setup might yield a variance on loudness
Stevie Ray Vaughn certainly loud , you gotta hear that guitar come screaming through the middle
FM acoustics last year LP play back.
Oh and for the people who say SRV ...... again , classics never get old as he is/was one of the best guitar players ever
FM acoustics last year LP play back.
Oh and for the people who say SRV ...... again , classics never get old as he is/was one of the best guitar players ever
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For a speaker guy, you sure have little focus on the speakers !
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