Current “Best Bet” SOTA Phono

[DasguteOhr]

Standing next to a Jet taking off is somewhere between 120dB and 150 dB, but is does not really matter, because 120 dB is already extremely loud. It marks the limit from which sounds become painful and very dangerous to the human ear. 120 dB is 32 times as loud as 70 dB (vacuum cleaner).


Here are some examples of maximum recommended exposure times:

DECIBEL LEVEL	EXPOSURE TIME
85 dB	8 hours
90 dB	2 hours
100 dB	15 minutes
110 dB	1 minute
120 dB	0 min

1m distance from the loudspeaker 120db no problem, at 3m distance -10db it is impossible to generate 120db most loudspeakers are then broken.
P.S i get 105db from 4x 15" woofer in 3.5m distance thats loud

 

[Cableman]

1m distance from the loudspeaker 120db no problem, at 3m distance -10db it is impossible to generate 120db most loudspeakers are then broken.
P.S i get 105db from 4x 15" woofer in 3.5m distance thats loud

Just set the RRV. it’s good for every lp irrespective of any variance in the lps actual volume

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

1m distance from the loudspeaker 120db no problem

Do you mean that you can reach 120 dB or that is not dangerous and painful?

 

[DasguteOhr]

Do you mean that you can reach 120 dB or that is not dangerous and painful?

Yes..and dangerous
I know that a B&W Matrix 800 or a Klipsch RF 7, for example, have a maximum sound pressure (SPL 1m) well over 120db. you've probably already been to a rock concert, if you've been too close tothe speakers you've easily got 120db on your ears for a longer period of time.
If you went home and got beeps or everything sounded dull, you can be sure that your hearing has been suffering. Sins of youth catch up with us in old age.

 

[Atmasphere]

I was wondering if I was the only one that saw that 120dB claim and was thinking 'gee whiz!'

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Yes..and dangerous
I know that a B&W Matrix 800 or a Klipsch RF 7, for example, have a maximum sound pressure (SPL 1m) well over 120db. you've probably already been to a rock concert, if you've been too close tothe speakers you've easily got 120db on your ears for a longer period of time.
If you went home and got beeps or everything sounded dull, you can be sure that your hearing has been suffering. Sins of youth catch up with us in old age.

On the other hand concerts/ live music are the reference point. We always aim to bring it home.

 

[Uwiik]

Nice Room, 120 DB in a untreated room will create allot of Relfected Energy bouncing back into the room.

120db is equivilent to standing next to a Jet engine taking off.

How was this meassured?

120 db was peak not average and it was stupid, measured with iPhone DB meter, so I don’t know how accurate it was but I think it was realistic. I used to be in car audio scheme many years ago and 120db is nothing on SPL competition, off course we don’t stay too long listening at that level, like I said it was stupid.

 

[Atmasphere]

measured with iPhone DB meter

IPhone meters stop at 105dB. You'll need an actual sound pressure level meter to read anything higher.

 

[Uwiik]

IPhone meters stop at 105dB. You'll need an actual sound pressure level meter to read anything higher.

It stop at 130 db, I think I just upset the whole house complex at Saturday morning just to prove that it goes beyond 105 db…LOL… I took off the ATM-2211 from the bi-amp scenario from my system because I like the purer sound of Ongaku only and it’s not possible to reach 120 db anymore on Ongaku alone, otherwise I would’ve done 120 db peak again just to prove my point, but I hear you loud and clear, it’s iPhone db meter perhaps not the most accurate test.




No more ATM-2211 but it never sounded better..

 

[Phantom-Audio]

The mic on the Iphone is seriously flawed for such measurements you will need to do this on a professional measuring tool and software.

 

[anubisgrau]

Not sure if this is an appropriate home audio for 120db/1m EDM....

 

[Guscom]

Maybe my contribution it’s a little bit delayed, but for me Sfz step up + M7 (only) phono + M10 (or G70 too I bet) + Ongaku is the really nirvana for the analog, IMHO obviously. I don’t like IOM too much, I prefer the Lyra (old Parnassus BB) , I have both.

 

[morricab]

1m distance from the loudspeaker 120db no problem, at 3m distance -10db it is impossible to generate 120db most loudspeakers are then broken.
P.S i get 105db from 4x 15" woofer in 3.5m distance thats loud

In a real room the drop is never that much with distance...that is theoretical number. i have done my own measurements on this and at 3-4 meters the drop is usually less than 3 db.

 

[Phantom-Audio]

Depends on the room acoustics as well. It should be approx 3db per meter but this varies on the room.

 

[morricab]

Depends on the room acoustics as well. It should be approx 3db per meter but this varies on the room.

I had big electrostats where it only droped by 1db after 3.5 meters...also depends if the speaker is a line source or not.

 

[daytona600]

it is impossible to generate 120db most loudspeakers are then broken


128 dB SPL per pair at 1m all day if required
Active monitors with 4,200wpc

 

[tinkerphile]

Generally speaking, if you have to load a LOMC cartridge to get it to sound right you have a problem in the phono section- its responding to the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) that is generated by the cartridge and the tonearm cable (they form an electrical resonance, usually at a very high frequency and can be up to 2MHz). Put another way, the loading is for the benefit of the phono section, not the cartridge. The RFI can cause the phono section to sound bright. The resistor serves to detune the electrical resonance, thus getting rid of the RFI.

If the phono section has poor high frequency overload issues, this can also result in extra ticks and pops that sound for all the world as if they are on the LP.

One consequence of loading is that you are asking the cartridge to do more work. The industry standard for cartridge loading is 47,000 Ohms; when you ask it to drive 100 Ohms instead you are asking for a couple of orders of magnitude more work- and this causes the cantilever to be stiffer as a result. This in turn affects the mechanical resonance of the cartridge/arm combination. If that causes it to get out of the 7-12Hz window you can have a tracking problem. The stiffer cantilever might also affect the cartridge's ability to trace higher frequencies since it will be less supple.

IMO the best phono sections made will sound right without any cartridge loading. But you do want to have loading available if you use high output cartridges (usually MM); they need proper loading to sound right since they have so much more inductance.

I actually loved my Herron Audio at "infinite loading." I tried many permutations of loading or loading and resistance, always went back to infinite where I first began. Granted, not considered SOTA by most (here), but it can produce absolutely lovely cartridge characteristics. Many folks go straight to a community consensus or a particular cart's loading info. Okay, but I'm not sure (convinced or settled) that we should be doing that.

 

[Solypsa]

it is impossible to generate 120db most loudspeakers are then broken


128 dB SPL per pair at 1m all day if required
Active monitors with 4,200wpc View attachment 88536

All day really? Not a challenge just a surprise. To be fair Stephen's quote re 120db was at 3m...although it appears these Hedd get in that zone. I wonder at what LF frequency?

 

[DasguteOhr]

I had big electrostats where it only droped by 1db after 3.5 meters...also depends if the speaker is a line source or not.

If a room is heavily damped, the reverberation time is around 0.3s, then you lose a lot of energy. You can then hear louder but you need a lot more power. i lose 2-3db per meter distance to the speakers. if you want to listen loud, the Klipsch RF 7(~100db/1watt) also goes above 125 db / 1m permanently under 5k€,

 

[DasguteOhr]

All day really? Not a challenge just a surprise. To be fair Stephen's quote re 120db was at 3m...although it appears these Hedd get in that zone. I wonder at what LF frequency?

Most 10-15db under 40hz lost,the max spl is usually specified at 100hz or higher.
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