rgro;540167 Wrote: > I don't usually participate in this forum because, frankly, I'm an utter > and complete idiot when it comes to this sort of stuff. Not sure if this > is OT or if I'm hijacking the thread----my apologies if either are > true. > > But, in reading, a question did come to mind: does all this discussion > imply that for each particular system there is a volume at which one > hears all of the musical detail possible and beyond which you're only > increasing volume and not detail? > > If so, is there a way to empirically discover what that optimal volume > is or does one just determine that by the seat of one's pants? > > From the lay perspective, it'd be nice to know what that sweet spot is > where you're hearing everything possible but not damaging your ears!
Well Rick that's actually an interesting question but I don't believe it has anything to do with "detail"... IMO (and many other peoples) each track has its optimum minimum level for playback - if it's quieter it just sounds a bit "weak" and unexciting. Get to that magic level and it grips you. Go too far and some tracks get a bit "shrieky" on some systems. IMO for most tracks there is a magic level where the track comes alive and sounds great. Some speakers also have a certain amount of (what I'll call) "inertia" and need to be operating at a certain level to "open up and sing" To put things in perspective, in the 70's-80's people aspired to a top range vinyl or tape playback system with a dynamic range equivalent to top studios. This was in fact somewhere around 75-80dB at absolute best (usually somewhat lower). 16-bit has a DR of 96dB when properly recorded... -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal... Touch(wired/XP) - TACT 2.2X (Linear PSU) + Good Vibrations S/W - MF Triplethreat(Audiocom full mods) - Linn 5103 - Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Blue Jeans Digital,Kimber Speaker & Chord Interconnect cables Kitchen Boom, Outdoors: SB Radio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=77725 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
