Just read an interesting article about the world's most powerful loudspeaker. It peaks at 165 dB, and just to put that into perspective a shuttle launch can only do a measly 150 dB.
I want this thing. Hook it up to a noise cancellation system...
And on another note, I just recently watched X-Men 2 in a theater...that girl with the really high pitched voice about killed me.
My ears are much less susceptible to bass than the really high frequencies...my friend has over a thousand watts worth of subwoofers stuffed into his trunk and I like nothing more than sitting in the back seat getting a sonic massage. I'm not saying I can't hear it, I'm just saying it doesn't hurt.
Headphones. Everyone needs headphones attached to their goddam spinal cords.
Headphones are certainly useful in the "considerate to others" department, but not much help in the protect-your-own-ears department.
I really hate wearing headphones, however. I'd rather listen to music and movies at reasonable levels during reasonable hours, or not listen at all.
What sucks lately at work is that one guy has decided to be hypersensitive. My boss, myself, and others around here, have many times before played music out loud in their own offices, albeit at a low level. Until now, everyone was cool about it.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I was listening to music at work on my iPod, with my PC's cheapo Harmon/Kardon speakers plugged in. If Spinal Tap goes to 11, I had these things set to -1. My coworker Dudley (not his real name -- but it suits him) was in my cubicle discussing some code with me, and as he's leaving, he glances around the office and says "You know, I think you might want to turn that down a little.", seemingly concerned about someone else somewhere in the office. So, I crank the volume down to -2, at the very threshold of "why even bother?".
About an hour later, he comes by and says, "You know, those speakers of yours seem to have a lot of treble." Not fully catching a clue yet about his indirect, passive-aggressive ways, I adjust the tone control a bit, and turn the volume down to about -2.2. 15 minutes later, "You know, I still hear a lot of treble. Have you tried other speakers?"
I go over into his cubicle to try to hear what he's hearing. It's not much sound at all, and certainly not especially "treblish". Basically what it comes down to, which he never was willing to come right out and say, is that any level of volume by which he was remotely aware that I was playing music was too much. I asked him flatly, "So is the trouble that you can hear my music, period, not how loud it is? That you just don't want to know that it's playing at all?" He just shrugged and looked sheepish, which I had to take as a yes.
I'm not sure which I'm more annoyed about: that he was being such a delicate princess, or that he didn't just come straight out and say "hey, your music is bugging me" right from the start, an approach for which I'd have had a whole lot more respect.
The result is that I'm just not playing music at work anymore. I find even the lightest of headphones or earbuds uncomfortable (perhaps that's my department for being a princess), and more than that, I just don't like the feeling of isolation I get when I'm wearing headphones.
Given that I'm 50 and still have excellent hearing makes this point moot.
This either means you're smart enough to judiciously use your "blow you into the next county" audio power, or that you might need a hearing test to see if you're correct about this claim.
Sorry but the point of a good stereo system is to recreate the " real " experience. What the music would sound like if the musicians were right in front of you. If you've ever been to a concert ( of any type even classical ) it's loud. That's the bottom line.
Classical orchestras can get very loud, but typically only for brief musical peaks, unlike much rock music, which often starts loud and stays loud through and through.
The "real" experience of a rock concert is also one with a completely arbitrary volume level. There's nothing about the music itself that's less "real" at one level or another. It's merely another symptom of the same stupid lack of concern for the health of one's ears that people demonstrate with the way the uses their stereos, that you see effecting the demands and expectations of rock concert-goers.
Since many recordings are studio recordings, there is no "real" original performance volume to recreate. Even if you are listening to a live recording, does attempting to recreate reality dictate any specific location in the audience? That can make a big difference in loudness in some venues.
If you're deeply into recreating concert realism, perhaps you should put on a little Great White and then set your living room on fire.
Of course college kids know the deal about loud music. I really dont care at all if people play their stuff loud....I have 2 neighbors that dont care much either..well my one neighbor doesnt care at all and is pretty inconsiderate. Even if Im bugged a little bit I dont knock on anyones door or what not...I always get complaints about my music though. A lot of the time I am almost forced to because of my neighbor...and at times I will crank it just to blow his @$$ out of the water and shake his room. Normally a good thing to do when I get pissed off is point the sub directly at his room and turn it up. He plays country music too...as well as boy bands and crap rap like Nelly. Yet I still dont bother him at all...he is entitled to it. The one thing though is that he plays it 24/7, and woke me up at 9 AM or something blasting Nelly. There are reasounable hours to play your music....but you do not bump at 9 am in the morning. Who in college is even gonna be up at that time?
Speaking of which....here comes the hillbilly music....
This either means you're smart enough to judiciously use your "blow you into the next county" audio power, or that you might need a hearing test to see if you're correct about this claim.
Sorry but the point of a good stereo system is to recreate the " real " experience. What the music would sound like if the musicians were right in front of you. If you've ever been to a concert ( of any type even classical ) it's loud. That's the bottom line.
Classical orchestras can get very loud, but typically only for brief musical peaks, unlike much rock music, which often starts loud and stays loud through and through.
The "real" experience of a rock concert is also one with a completely arbitrary volume level. There's nothing about the music itself that's less "real" at one level or another. It's merely another symptom of the same stupid lack of concern for the health of one's ears that people demonstrate with the way the uses their stereos, that you see effecting the demands and expectations of rock concert-goers.
Since many recordings are studio recordings, there is no "real" original performance volume to recreate. Even if you are listening to a live recording, does attempting to recreate reality dictate any specific location in the audience? That can make a big difference in loudness in some venues.
If you're deeply into recreating concert realism, perhaps you should put on a little Great White and then set your living room on fire.
Well as a rule of thumb my amp has never been beyond half way as that is the highest volume you can get out of any amp without adding noise. It's plenty loud enough. Modern amps can also recreate position and distance from the stage. I shoot for about half way back. Also if you have an amp with 5.1 and DVD audio to match you can closely recreate what the recording engineer intended at the time of the recording. Any type of concert that I've attended ( and I've been to a few about 20 years ago I used to sell tickets for a store and could usually get any seat I wanted ) no matter where I sat ( or stood ) it was fairly loud. I don't advocate people attempt to hurt their ears in order to listen to music properly. However if you want to get that special feeling you got when listening to the artist live the volume is probably going to be up there.
As far as bass goes people usually abuse that control. I balance my tone and individual speaker volume controls with test signals ( rather than just leave it to my ears ) so they properly match the rooms acoustics. I find a balanced response is much more real.
Also I have an added advantage. I live in a house and I don't live real close to anyone. If I was in an apartment ( yeah I remember those days ) I would respect the the other people around me.
As I like my music loud, I don't like it loud if anybody else can hear it. I know that my taste in music is rather odd (to most people) and I sure as hell don't wanna hear 75% of the music out there, so I figure at least 75% of the people out there don't wanna hear mine. I play my music loud in my car, but when I get in an area where people could possible hear it, I turn it down, mainly so I don't look like a show off dipshit.
As I like my music loud, I don't like it loud if anybody else can hear it. I know that my taste in music is rather odd (to most people) and I sure as hell don't wanna hear 75% of the music out there, so I figure at least 75% of the people out there don't wanna hear mine. I play my music loud in my car, but when I get in an area where people could possible hear it, I turn it down, mainly so I don't look like a show off dipshit.
Comments
I want this thing. Hook it up to a noise cancellation system...
And on another note, I just recently watched X-Men 2 in a theater...that girl with the really high pitched voice about killed me.
My ears are much less susceptible to bass than the really high frequencies...my friend has over a thousand watts worth of subwoofers stuffed into his trunk and I like nothing more than sitting in the back seat getting a sonic massage. I'm not saying I can't hear it, I'm just saying it doesn't hurt.
Originally posted by groverat
Headphones. Everyone needs headphones attached to their goddam spinal cords.
Headphones are certainly useful in the "considerate to others" department, but not much help in the protect-your-own-ears department.
I really hate wearing headphones, however. I'd rather listen to music and movies at reasonable levels during reasonable hours, or not listen at all.
What sucks lately at work is that one guy has decided to be hypersensitive. My boss, myself, and others around here, have many times before played music out loud in their own offices, albeit at a low level. Until now, everyone was cool about it.
Well, a couple of weeks ago I was listening to music at work on my iPod, with my PC's cheapo Harmon/Kardon speakers plugged in. If Spinal Tap goes to 11, I had these things set to -1. My coworker Dudley (not his real name -- but it suits him) was in my cubicle discussing some code with me, and as he's leaving, he glances around the office and says "You know, I think you might want to turn that down a little.", seemingly concerned about someone else somewhere in the office. So, I crank the volume down to -2, at the very threshold of "why even bother?".
About an hour later, he comes by and says, "You know, those speakers of yours seem to have a lot of treble." Not fully catching a clue yet about his indirect, passive-aggressive ways, I adjust the tone control a bit, and turn the volume down to about -2.2. 15 minutes later, "You know, I still hear a lot of treble. Have you tried other speakers?"
I go over into his cubicle to try to hear what he's hearing. It's not much sound at all, and certainly not especially "treblish". Basically what it comes down to, which he never was willing to come right out and say, is that any level of volume by which he was remotely aware that I was playing music was too much. I asked him flatly, "So is the trouble that you can hear my music, period, not how loud it is? That you just don't want to know that it's playing at all?" He just shrugged and looked sheepish, which I had to take as a yes.
I'm not sure which I'm more annoyed about: that he was being such a delicate princess, or that he didn't just come straight out and say "hey, your music is bugging me" right from the start, an approach for which I'd have had a whole lot more respect.
The result is that I'm just not playing music at work anymore. I find even the lightest of headphones or earbuds uncomfortable (perhaps that's my department for being a princess), and more than that, I just don't like the feeling of isolation I get when I'm wearing headphones.
Originally posted by jimmac
Given that I'm 50 and still have excellent hearing makes this point moot.
This either means you're smart enough to judiciously use your "blow you into the next county" audio power, or that you might need a hearing test to see if you're correct about this claim.
Sorry but the point of a good stereo system is to recreate the " real " experience. What the music would sound like if the musicians were right in front of you. If you've ever been to a concert ( of any type even classical ) it's loud. That's the bottom line.
Classical orchestras can get very loud, but typically only for brief musical peaks, unlike much rock music, which often starts loud and stays loud through and through.
The "real" experience of a rock concert is also one with a completely arbitrary volume level. There's nothing about the music itself that's less "real" at one level or another. It's merely another symptom of the same stupid lack of concern for the health of one's ears that people demonstrate with the way the uses their stereos, that you see effecting the demands and expectations of rock concert-goers.
Since many recordings are studio recordings, there is no "real" original performance volume to recreate. Even if you are listening to a live recording, does attempting to recreate reality dictate any specific location in the audience? That can make a big difference in loudness in some venues.
If you're deeply into recreating concert realism, perhaps you should put on a little Great White and then set your living room on fire.
Of course college kids know the deal about loud music. I really dont care at all if people play their stuff loud....I have 2 neighbors that dont care much either..well my one neighbor doesnt care at all and is pretty inconsiderate. Even if Im bugged a little bit I dont knock on anyones door or what not...I always get complaints about my music though. A lot of the time I am almost forced to because of my neighbor...and at times I will crank it just to blow his @$$ out of the water and shake his room. Normally a good thing to do when I get pissed off is point the sub directly at his room and turn it up. He plays country music too...as well as boy bands and crap rap like Nelly. Yet I still dont bother him at all...he is entitled to it. The one thing though is that he plays it 24/7, and woke me up at 9 AM or something blasting Nelly. There are reasounable hours to play your music....but you do not bump at 9 am in the morning. Who in college is even gonna be up at that time?
Speaking of which....here comes the hillbilly music....
Originally posted by shetline
This either means you're smart enough to judiciously use your "blow you into the next county" audio power, or that you might need a hearing test to see if you're correct about this claim.
Sorry but the point of a good stereo system is to recreate the " real " experience. What the music would sound like if the musicians were right in front of you. If you've ever been to a concert ( of any type even classical ) it's loud. That's the bottom line.
Classical orchestras can get very loud, but typically only for brief musical peaks, unlike much rock music, which often starts loud and stays loud through and through.
The "real" experience of a rock concert is also one with a completely arbitrary volume level. There's nothing about the music itself that's less "real" at one level or another. It's merely another symptom of the same stupid lack of concern for the health of one's ears that people demonstrate with the way the uses their stereos, that you see effecting the demands and expectations of rock concert-goers.
Since many recordings are studio recordings, there is no "real" original performance volume to recreate. Even if you are listening to a live recording, does attempting to recreate reality dictate any specific location in the audience? That can make a big difference in loudness in some venues.
If you're deeply into recreating concert realism, perhaps you should put on a little Great White and then set your living room on fire.
Well as a rule of thumb my amp has never been beyond half way as that is the highest volume you can get out of any amp without adding noise. It's plenty loud enough. Modern amps can also recreate position and distance from the stage. I shoot for about half way back. Also if you have an amp with 5.1 and DVD audio to match you can closely recreate what the recording engineer intended at the time of the recording. Any type of concert that I've attended ( and I've been to a few about 20 years ago I used to sell tickets for a store and could usually get any seat I wanted ) no matter where I sat ( or stood ) it was fairly loud. I don't advocate people attempt to hurt their ears in order to listen to music properly. However if you want to get that special feeling you got when listening to the artist live the volume is probably going to be up there.
As far as bass goes people usually abuse that control. I balance my tone and individual speaker volume controls with test signals ( rather than just leave it to my ears ) so they properly match the rooms acoustics. I find a balanced response is much more real.
Also I have an added advantage. I live in a house and I don't live real close to anyone. If I was in an apartment ( yeah I remember those days ) I would respect the the other people around me.
Originally posted by iBrowse
As I like my music loud, I don't like it loud if anybody else can hear it. I know that my taste in music is rather odd (to most people) and I sure as hell don't wanna hear 75% of the music out there, so I figure at least 75% of the people out there don't wanna hear mine. I play my music loud in my car, but when I get in an area where people could possible hear it, I turn it down, mainly so I don't look like a show off dipshit.
Me to. It's the respectful thing to do.