Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Should I Turn Up the Volume - Is Louder Better???

Is Listening at Louder Levels a good or bad thing??

Louder is better � The Fletcher-Munson Curves

I found the article interesting in that the effects mentioned I, like most i suspect, was already aware of.

What it did get me thinking about was actually what we are trying to achieve when listening to music. I think my views differ from the expert, but I don't think this make me wrong!

For me, when listening to music, the aim is to reproduce the original sound. Part of this reproduction involves volume matching, although I don't think of it in this was as I don't have any reference to compare volume levels against. My thinking is that, say when listening to a piano, how my brain perceives a live piano should be exactly the same as how my brain perceives a recording of the same piano when played through my speakers. So compensating with volume difference is IMHO incorrect as my brain would be behaving differently between live and recording.

What I can't get my head around is whether this is correct for all recordings, such as non live or fake recordings such as electronic music or film tracks. I suspect that in this case, it is the sound mixer who determines how they want the audio to sound, therefor if they boost the mix, that is how they want it to sound.

As the article says:

"We are less sensitive to low and high frequencies, we hear mid frequencies more prominently (especially between 1-5 kHz)
As the volume increases, this perceived loudness difference between the frequencies diminishes"

The human voice has an approximate range of 100 Hz to 5000 Hz. When I pump up the volume, I hear the music more and my wife less.

QED: Loud is good.

When I do my dance stuff, which is full of frequency range extremes, I try and mix as quiet as I can and always set the master at -3db too to make sure I have some headroom.

I had never stopped and thought about the above, but it makes complete sense as when I mix at lower volumes the levels between tracks when they change are always much smoother transitions than when I have mixed live with the music cranked up seriously loud.
In the same respect when I playback my mixes loud it always sounds smoother transition wise than when I listen at lower volumes.



It now also makes me feel a lot better about turning the parametric EQ on Alpine head units down to -5db at 3khz and still feeling it just isn't enough!

I agree 100% with Ian, couldn�t have worded it better!

I've come to the conclusion that, for us, there is no such thing as the original sound when playing a recording. I know that, theoretically, it's meant to be the Holy Grail for us all and that many of us spend a great deal of money in trying to achieve it. We eschew the likes of tone controls on amplifiers, pay silly money for players, amps, loudspeakers and cables etc.

Yet, for all this, studio recorded music has been through a myriad of microphones, processors, wiring, mixing desks etc and has been Eq'd and Mastered by a particular individual through particular equipment in a particular room on particular loudspeakers and particular headphones. With the exception of a full live performance (and you'd have to have been there), there wasn't even an original sound to start with, as we are presented with many individual overlaid tracks.

I know we talk about things like 'instrumental timbre', 'timing', 'reproduction of the original acoustic' etc. but I really do think that sometimes we are fooling ourselves about this 'realism' because all these things relate to our own ears, prejudices and opinions. I've come to accept that the truth of the matter, for me, is I simply try to get the sound how I like it - and I've sure spent a lot of money over the years doing it.

Peter Walker said every track has its own volume level
He was right, and about 83 dB ish is it. imho.

I was just about add exactly that - not about Peter Walker, but that every track has a 'perfect' volume level for me.

I always felt that perceived loudness (SPL) is to do with distortion.

Take a small portable radio; ~1W of power, ~86dB sensitivity, it's hardly going to reach high SPL levels, but turn it up and it'll get to a point where you think "that's bloody loud, better turn it down"

This is one of the first things you realise with active speakers, they go very loud with hardly any distortion, you can keep turning them up, after a while you get used to the level and can turn them up again.

Back when I was a trainee broadcast engineer with the Beeb, we did a series of audio tests (using our ears), the consensus was 0.1% THD was the audible level.*

Steve.

* We also did a similar test with (analogue) video signals, it was 10% THD, we were then told that that's why people always call in and complain about the sound but never about the picture.

Just been to the Kelvedon Free Festival, Highlights, Automatic Slim (Think Dr Feelgood) and The Blockheads.
My ears are ringing..... Perhaps I should listen alot louder.

https://picasaweb.google.com/chrislayeruk/KelvedonFreeFestival2011AutomaticSlimBlockheads#

Link to some photos, This was a great gig

Cheers Chris

I totally agree with you. If I was choosing equipment, I'm much more inclined to go with a sound that I like rather than, thinking well that sounds more realistic than that one.

Cheers
Tom

re. Kelvedon Free Festival.

Too far for me, but I'd love to have been at that. Mind you, we've just had Billy Bragg and Hugh Masekela on half a mile up the road at our local music festival.