"Correct" listening volume

Posted by vinyl phanatic (A) on August 31, 2011 at 19:21:13

OK, right up front, this discussion makes no allowance for the myriad of practical factors that influence listening volume. I am not trying to tell anyone what to do, just throwing out some things to think about.

One thing that I have never seen discussed is the ideal volume level to listen to a recording at. It seems to me a given that the volume level should match the perspective of the recording. That is, the closer the perspective, the louder it needs to be played to sound realistic.

The easy comparison would be Mercury vs. RCA. An orchestra is considerably louder when standing on the podium, where Mercury puts you, than when sitting out in the hall where RCA puts you. To reproduce the recording faithfully, a Mercury is going to need to be played louder than an RCA. The Mercury people knew this, and some of the early monos even say that they are best enjoyed when listened to at "concert volume." If you play the average Living Stereo at that same volume, it just does not sound right. I have a hunch that some poeple may play Living Stereos too loudly and then wonder what's wrong. This could easily happen with people whose primary interest is not classical, and who may have never heard a big orchestra playing a big piece in a big hall (it's not as loud as you think it's going to be, nor does it have as much bass as you might imagine).

The thing that brought this to mind was the discussion below about early EMI classical recordings, a good number of which were recorded at the most distant perspective of any of the major labels. They sound dreadful if you play them as loudly as you would a Mercury or a DECCA, and I think this contributes to the dislike some people have for them. Turn the volume down a bit, give your ears some time to adjust, and they sound wonderful.

Once again, this applies to an ideal listening situation. I've got a wife and a 10 year old and do a lot of my listening late at night. Even though they're 2 floors away, I'm not playing the Rite of Spring (or Steppenwolf's "Earschplittenloudenboomer") at concert levels at midnight (at least not if I want to live in familial bliss the next day!).

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Topic - "Correct" listening volume - vinyl phanatic 19:21:13 08/31/11 (21)

RE: "Correct" listening volume - scarlett5689@att.net 14:40:36 09/1/11 (1)

RE: "Correct" listening volume - majick47 18:12:40 09/1/11 (0)

This works for me ... - reelsmith. 12:27:05 09/1/11 (0)

In my case, the volume seems to be related to the speakers ... - djost 11:50:19 09/1/11 (0)

Only one way.. - Stitch 11:39:18 09/1/11 (0)

why did some of you seem to get upset??? - docw 10:15:23 09/1/11 (3)

RE: Wow! I really lucked out - amioutaline? 10:42:33 09/1/11 (2)

RE: Wow! I really lucked out - docw 11:19:47 09/1/11 (1)

RE: One of the truly beautiful places on earth - amioutaline? 18:19:19 09/1/11 (0)

RE: "Correct" listening volume - IEaudiodude 09:13:21 09/1/11 (0)

Amplitude distortion - reuben 09:08:59 09/1/11 (0)

As Justice Potter Stewart (almost) said... - mwhitmore 08:39:51 09/1/11 (0)

Simply put - kavakidd 21:48:53 08/31/11 (7)

I wonder if we are going to discuss the correct listening position... - EdAInWestOC 04:28:09 09/1/11 (6)

RE: I wonder if we are going to discuss the correct listening position... - richardl 13:47:19 09/1/11 (0)

Geez - kavakidd 09:31:43 09/1/11 (1)

RE: Geez - jimdgoulding@yahoo.com 10:00:39 09/1/11 (0)

Could be related to the "bed room" system thread....... - ampreometric 08:01:39 09/1/11 (0)

I'll admit it... - vinyl phanatic 07:29:26 09/1/11 (1)

;8^))...LOL...nt - EdAInWestOC 10:13:01 09/1/11 (0)

RE: "Correct" listening volume - gkargreen 20:53:53 08/31/11 (0)

"Correct" listening volume

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