Excellent analysis and your closing personal anecdote on hearing loss was
very telling. Carelessness in not bothering with hearing protection, US
military service, leads to hearing loss which can not be cured. For an
enjoyer of music what could be worse.


"Derek Fong" wrote in message
news:R4szb.412754$Fm2.418874@attbi_s04...
I'm coming to this discussion late, but wanted to add my experiences and 2
(or 4) bits since i think this issue often doesn't get enough attention:

some of my experiences:

- i too have brought a sound level meter to a couple of live classical
performances and the sound levels are surprisingly low. (often off the 50
db scale on the meter with only momentary peaks hitting 80 db or so from a
middle of the hall perspective (using C weighting, slow response).

- i bought my analog radio shack meter several years ago more as a
curiosity. i was surprised to learn that i typically listen at mean
levels in the low 60s (with peaks that can hit 80 for classical music) for
all sorts of music: classical, jazz, rock, folk (acoustic). Then again,
in the car (when i had my old 1985 Honda civic), i was blaring the radio
at 80+ db just to overcome road noise on the freeway.

- people have very different loudness preferences and tolerances. There
have been many a time when i go to a hi-end shop and have my "high
resolution" hearing blown out (temporarily) but a zealous salesperson
trying to show off the dynamics of the equipment. i find that in a quiet
environment, 60-70 db (mean, again...peaks can be a quite a bit higher)
allow me to get into the music and hear a lot of different
details...anything higher for a significant period, i lose my ability to
resolve finer details when evaluating equipment. in more recent
years, i've taken an active role in making sure i'm the one adjusting
the volume from the start of my audition periods (although my system
has reached "steady state" in recent years and i haven't been shopping
much).

- in general, having had other audiophiles come to my house to listen,
most of us now agree that one can get very critical listening accomplished
even with music in the 50-60 db range of playback. this is true IF 1) the
background noise is very low (best guess is our house is around 20-25 db),
2) one has a system whose speakers open up well even at low volumes (i
have maggies which i personally think can open up fairly nicely once i hit
the mid 50 db range (again for mean levels).

- as i indicated above, background noise levels are critical. experiment
(not recommended to be done often): try to play a set of "open" headphones
while on the plane at a level that allows for decent resolution...then,
try that same volume setting back at the hotel room (or your
house)...you'll be alarmed at how loud you were playing your music. i've
since adopted Etymotic ER-4Ps (highly recommended) which provide 20+ db of
isolation. with them, i never turn up my MD or new iPod to more than
1/4-1/3 of the volume range.

soapbox on

- Finally, one does not value their hearing until it is too late: in my
case, i learned the hard way how sensitive and delicate our hearing really
is. last year, i spent about an hour helping a friend cut paver stones
with a ceramic saw not wearing ear protection. the end result --
hyperacusis (amplified concerts, large groups and people with really high
pitched voices give me difficulties), tinnitus in my right ear, and a
hearing loss at 6 khz in my right ear*. the latter two are very coupled.
i _fortunately_ can still enjoy my music, i don't have problems playing at
my "pre-injury" listening habit levels of 60-70 db, and i still can hear
subtle differences between different equipment, etc. Nevertheless, the
injuries definitely have removed the "black silence" i used to hear in
quiet classical pieces. it's interesting to note that i don't notice the
"notch" in my R ear's freq. response unless i plug my left ear...somehow,
i guess the brain compensates. But i am su i have lost some resolving
ability in my hearing. without having as "black a silence" i have lost
something that i used to have prior to the accident.

Protect your ears!
soapbox off

-Derek

* an audiogram shows that i have distinct notch at that frequency. in
fact, for all frequences other than 6 khz, i have hearing thresholds below
10 db. for my L ear (which wasn't protected but somehow didn't get
damaged as much), the notch is at 20 db...still considered normal hearing,
but my test 5 years prior to the injury had that threshold level at 10 db.