Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems "Reference" volume level

87 volume level = 0dB (unity gain) this is the 'reference' level.

75dB is the target level for all speakers as measure by an SPL meter at the listening position when performing calibration.

Though on my system; I calibrate down to the SPL of lowest the measured channel, to minimise -ve dB offset on the front 3 DSP's.

Regards,
Carl

I'm trying to recall if any soundtrack has made mine cut out at reference level. It's surprisingly rare to find a soundtrack that gets near full scale.

Paul McCartney / Memory Almost Full / Dance Tonight hits full scale; I know because I've used it to test clipping with certain DSP operations.

Well 87 is listenable, although it really depends on the disk. I was just listening to the Ray Charles Genius tribute concert. In DTS I tend to listen at 90 although its a quieter disk than many.

Thanks

Based on the foregoing, my setups have been rather crude. I've never come across any 0db / reference setups, so safe to assume that my old setups would be far from perfect. I think I might need some help!
Having said that I do like a bit of 'right-hand-down' and love to wind the wick up to '90'+ from time to time. Preferably with a piece with a very wide dynamic range.

Having said that, levels like that aren't comfortable for long, and with music playing, '80' is about the limit for prolonged listening.
Movies? I routinely play Hollywood blockbusters at 85+; the quiet passages are indeed quiet but the system really wakes up with an appropriate prompt!
That, for me, is when Meridian systems are at their best.

Rereading this, I'm reminded of Spinal Tap.
My setup goes to 11 etc.

I know for a fact that none of front three can handle reference level properly. Given that they were chosen for best WAF/performance ratio they do rather well.

Just want to add a few things. Reference levels of complex Cinema sound tracks have nothing to do with Music listening, where music is often mixed/maxed out to full scale (e.g. in pop).

If cinema sound is too loud for you at a properly calibrated home cinema of 0dbfs, check your room accoustics and your frequency response (for modal masking or high tone pitches from reflections).

75 and 85db gain set up belongs to the corresponding test signals supplied by a medium or a hardware internal test tone, at either -20dbfs or -30dbfs, to come to that theoretical maximum SPL per speaker mentioned already, which in reality has nothing to do with how loud the soundtrack is actually mixed.

Room treatment takes away room gain in bass as well as from reflections in the treble and mid range. If you listen in a very treated room, you will be surprised how much "perceived SPL" you are loosing, how much harder the speakers can be driven, how much the dynamics will rise, how much easier and enjoyable it is to listen to very high SPL. Modern rooms are a real nightmare to reach and enjoy reference SPL, where it is in the end not necessary, as the "subjective mix" of direct and a lot of reflected sound can be perceived as "as loud" as reference levels in a huge cinema space or studio. Room treatment does only one thing, it makes your room acoustically bigger. Nothing else, a must have for music and cinema sound reproduction.

Nothing to do with reference level but we had friends round this afternoon so the volume was set to 32 on my 565 system with a Sooloos playlist.
At first I could barely hear it, which was ok as we where talking and drinking tea with home made scones and biscuits.
Over time I was noticing the music more and more and it sounded great. Feet were taping and it was being enjoyed by all even at such a low level.
The sweet spot was not an issue.

I am just commenting on how much I appreciate how good a Meridian system can sound even at very low levels. It was all there rhythm bass pace, you name it, just great. Chris

Loads of interesting comments and advice. I, too, cannot listen comfortably to music/movies for extended periods above 76. Actually, I find 76 is the sweet spot for watching "action" movies like black hawk down and when listening to truly awesome/riveting music at "loud" volumes. However, most of the time, as other have pointed out, anywhere between 65-70 is more than adequate and I can listen to music for hours at these levels. Frankly, anything over 80 is way too loud for me an I don't feel like I gain anything extra from the music/audio reproduction. Rather, I feel like I'm pushing the speakers outside of their musical zones and it starts becoming a demonstration of brute force more than anything else.

And that is without DSP's?

DSP's really come into their own at low levels, they add more weight when played low, and reduce the bass a little when being driven hard, so no matter when you are listening it always sound pretty much the same.

I forgot this when I went back to a regular amp and speaker system, have tried to live with it for a couple of months but so much of my listening is when Fiona has gone to bed that I have got to come back to DSPs again.