I specifically purchase noise cancelling headphones / earbuds now since it makes it easy to listen at MUCH quieter levels. I have done some tests with the noise cancelling disabled and setting the volume and with it on.. It really makes a huge difference as I am not cranking it up to drowned out noise on transit or walking down the street.
Odd I have tested them in stores before and they are typically well rated.
However I was using Bose QC II for a few years and now I use the apple air pod pros.
For in ear seal is really important for nose canceling and apple also provides a test mode / app on apple devices to test that sound isn’t leaking substantially.
Makes no difference in a quiet environment but will easily cancel out a loud air conditioner or most traffic noise from passing cars.
I believe you’re correct. DACs obviously can’t determine volume at all, but amps can try to use the impedance to create an estimate.
This probably isn’t accurate though. If you really want a good estimate, you would have to calculate it with current voltage output and the specs of the headphones/IEMs in question.
I’m just a hobbyist too, but my headphones are extremely inefficient so I’ve spent some time looking into this. Too bad we don’t have oratory here
Some amps do indicate how much power they’re outputting. The little portable dac/amp Qudelix 5k is $100 and does this. I think it also has fields for impedance and sensitivity, wherein it calculates SPL (dB), but I don’t actually have one so I’m not confident.
10-15% on earphones. However, that doesn't really mean anything. Different sound card and headphone combination will produce different loudness at same levels.
I'm just going to take this moment to remind everyone not to destroy their hearing. Back in highschool I used to blast my ears with headphones at maximum volume and go to loud venues without hearing protection. I've been permanently listening to EEEEEEEEEEEEE ever since. That was 25 years ago. It never goes away folks. Stay safe!
I listen at a low volume. I'm usually doing something else as well, so loud music is too distracting and irritating. I'm old, and I can still hear very well except for spousal deafness.
I love that the font size on this post is twice as big as all the others.
No, I knew! I agreed with you they were completely useless and unhelpful, that’s more or less why I just wanted to get that guide out here, hopefully it can save just one persons hearing!
Depends. My IEMs have higher impedance than your usual pair of headphones, and then it also depends on what I'm listening to from my self-ripped .flac library. Right now I am listening to Savage Amusement by Scorpions and I can listen to it enjoyably at 65 out of 120 on my Walkman. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is a tad bit quieter so on that album I have 75. Usually it's around this volume range, but sometimes if it's a raw grimey death metal album I have to go even higher.
tl;dr:
It mostly depends on how loud or quiet the album I'm listening to is.
Jokes aside, just over 50% system volume in general with apps and headphones maxed out. My hearing is so/so. I wish it were below 50 but it's just too quiet like that
I use Reduce Loud Sounds on the iPhone with my AirPods Pro to reduce the maximum volume to 80dB so that I don’t damage my hearing. That way, I can crank the volume buttons to maximum without having to think about it, knowing that it will be safe.
i usually keep it 2-4 clicks away from the limit that phones have. depends on how loud or quiet the album im listening to is. i used to have it all the way to the limit but that was when i worked at a much more noisy job
I specifically purchase noise cancelling headphones / earbuds now since it makes it easy to listen at MUCH quieter levels. I have done some tests with the noise cancelling disabled and setting the volume and with it on.. It really makes a huge difference as I am not cranking it up to drowned out noise on transit or walking down the street.
Came here say this. Absolutely agree. Being able to reduce background noise is huge.
As a side point - having a car that's quiet has really allowed me to enjoy music at a much more reasonable level when driving as well.
I bought some Sony XM4s because I'd heard this theory before but I found noise cancelling barely makes a difference.
Yeah I have the WH-1000XM3s and the noise cancelling made a substantial difference to my listening volume (like 30-40% quieter on average).
The overear headphones. The ANC just made no difference.
No I just sold them. They weren't worth the price.
Odd I have tested them in stores before and they are typically well rated.
However I was using Bose QC II for a few years and now I use the apple air pod pros.
For in ear seal is really important for nose canceling and apple also provides a test mode / app on apple devices to test that sound isn’t leaking substantially.
Makes no difference in a quiet environment but will easily cancel out a loud air conditioner or most traffic noise from passing cars.
11, obviously!
It's 1
better than 10louder, innit?Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
But this one goes up to 11
Actually it's a logarithmic scale.
WHAT? SORRY I CANT HEAR ANYMORE
I try to target under 70db to protect my ears. Some earbuds and DAC's can show you a db estimate
As someone else said, I'm referring to the Qudelix where you can input the Impedance and Sensitivity manually
I believe you’re correct. DACs obviously can’t determine volume at all, but amps can try to use the impedance to create an estimate.
This probably isn’t accurate though. If you really want a good estimate, you would have to calculate it with current voltage output and the specs of the headphones/IEMs in question.
I’m just a hobbyist too, but my headphones are extremely inefficient so I’ve spent some time looking into this. Too bad we don’t have oratory here
Some amps do indicate how much power they’re outputting. The little portable dac/amp Qudelix 5k is $100 and does this. I think it also has fields for impedance and sensitivity, wherein it calculates SPL (dB), but I don’t actually have one so I’m not confident.
Sound engineer here. Please protect your ears people, there’s no way to reverse hearing damage.
depends.
In the middle of angry-programming? The linkin park will be turned up to 80%. I want to make sure Chester's screams wakes the dead.
Business as usual? around 20%. Enough to drown out external noises.
11
I use the headphone safety feature of my phone to limit it to 80dB. Anything higher and you’re risking permanent hearing loss.
Guide.
As quietly as possible, you don't notice hearing damage until it's too late to do anything about it.
10-15% on earphones. However, that doesn't really mean anything. Different sound card and headphone combination will produce different loudness at same levels.
I'm just going to take this moment to remind everyone not to destroy their hearing. Back in highschool I used to blast my ears with headphones at maximum volume and go to loud venues without hearing protection. I've been permanently listening to EEEEEEEEEEEEE ever since. That was 25 years ago. It never goes away folks. Stay safe!
I listen at a low volume. I'm usually doing something else as well, so loud music is too distracting and irritating. I'm old, and I can still hear very well except for spousal deafness.
I love that the font size on this post is twice as big as all the others.
20% typically. I prefer to be able to hear my surroundings clearly still
multiples of 5
A 5 is the only exception to it being an even number
Some very arbitrary answers up in here
Here’s a handy guide if it helps.
I mostly meant the people saying a percentage.. Naturally I assume they mean relative to the loudness of the krakatoa eruption
No, I knew! I agreed with you they were completely useless and unhelpful, that’s more or less why I just wanted to get that guide out here, hopefully it can save just one persons hearing!
Depends. My IEMs have higher impedance than your usual pair of headphones, and then it also depends on what I'm listening to from my self-ripped .flac library. Right now I am listening to Savage Amusement by Scorpions and I can listen to it enjoyably at 65 out of 120 on my Walkman. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is a tad bit quieter so on that album I have 75. Usually it's around this volume range, but sometimes if it's a raw grimey death metal album I have to go even higher.
tl;dr:
It mostly depends on how loud or quiet the album I'm listening to is.
on speakers? reasonable minus a notch or two
on headphones? cranked
I'm exactly the opposite. I've got fancy ass speakers for a reason, I'm gonna use them.
^(yes, I've checked with the neighbours)
WHAT?
Jokes aside, just over 50% system volume in general with apps and headphones maxed out. My hearing is so/so. I wish it were below 50 but it's just too quiet like that
With headphones and speakers it is always as quietly as possible since I already have ear damage, I don't want more.
I primarily listen to music in my car and it’s usually as loud as I can stand.
For short car journeys or if I'm sharing, quietish background level
If I'm motorwaying it alone, fairly (but not stupidly) loud
Full on speakers, around 50% to 80% on IEMs/headphones; depends on the max volume I can do without getting tinnitus.
WHAT?
I use Reduce Loud Sounds on the iPhone with my AirPods Pro to reduce the maximum volume to 80dB so that I don’t damage my hearing. That way, I can crank the volume buttons to maximum without having to think about it, knowing that it will be safe.
60%
i usually keep it 2-4 clicks away from the limit that phones have. depends on how loud or quiet the album im listening to is. i used to have it all the way to the limit but that was when i worked at a much more noisy job
Usually between 32%~65%
19 or 20
22 if I'm really fucking jammin'
20-25% of volume for mobile devices (android), and 15-20% on my laptop (MacBook)
Loud enough that people outside the car can't hear me sing along.
About 4.
Full. All the way.
Usually between 75 - 85 dB