I have made my audio system go louder and louder over the years. To the point where I can destroy the neighbor's furniture.. lol
I know that's awfully loud. But I'd like to find a method to measure the dB output from my speakers in totality... I'd imagine it's in the 200 300 or so range or more, but I'm not sure. Can someone help me here?
I know that's awfully loud. But I'd like to find a method to measure the dB output from my speakers in totality... I'd imagine it's in the 200 300 or so range or more, but I'm not sure. Can someone help me here?
At 200-300 dB SPL, it's not only your neighbours furniture that's at risk,-
your local city sems more like it....
Also,- I guess you are very close to the niagara power plant, or something similar, for power input..??
A jet enginge measured at 1m is listed at an appx. value of 135-140 dB SPL ......
Duo...you can get a sound level meter for testing Db output and I think your way off on how Loud you think your system is...LOL
I saw Moterhead Live in concert years ago and they were the loudest band in the world and they recorded 167 Db.....my ears were numb for days after that!!!
Cheers!!The DIRT®
I saw Moterhead Live in concert years ago and they were the loudest band in the world and they recorded 167 Db.....my ears were numb for days after that!!!
Cheers!!The DIRT®
I find as i get older ( being the ripe old age of 25 now ) that loudness is my enemy in this sense : I'm a musician, and I have trouble listening to music in its totality sometimes..as my ear singles out one particular instrument and i focus on that.
On a crappy stereo, that is only capable of playing LOUD i find i have to turn the volume way up to hear what i am looking for. Maybe its the timbre of a guitar string that would give me hint to where on the fretboard the guitarist is playing... maybe its a really fast upright bass solo where i'm trying to define individual notes for transcription's sake...
However, since i got my 8watt 300b's I can listen to music at a normal level and be able to pick out all the detail i am listening to and walk away hours later without a headache...and the volume never gets past 3/10. ( on 89db speakers! )
Having a stereo that plays loud is absolutely nothing to brag about, IMHO, though im sure there are many who see it as a reason to. I guess it all gets back to why we listen to music in the first place.
-Maz
On a crappy stereo, that is only capable of playing LOUD i find i have to turn the volume way up to hear what i am looking for. Maybe its the timbre of a guitar string that would give me hint to where on the fretboard the guitarist is playing... maybe its a really fast upright bass solo where i'm trying to define individual notes for transcription's sake...
However, since i got my 8watt 300b's I can listen to music at a normal level and be able to pick out all the detail i am listening to and walk away hours later without a headache...and the volume never gets past 3/10. ( on 89db speakers! )
Having a stereo that plays loud is absolutely nothing to brag about, IMHO, though im sure there are many who see it as a reason to. I guess it all gets back to why we listen to music in the first place.
-Maz
In reference to the whale post above :
I seem to remember hearing that one of the new high tech non-lethal police weapons was a sort of 'sound cannon' that they would use to disperse crowds.
Apparently it gives off the resonant frequency of your chest cavity ( if memory serves me right ) and makes anyone within a certain area start throwing up within seconds. Kinda like tear gas but without the gas, and with alot of lost lunches.
-Maz
I seem to remember hearing that one of the new high tech non-lethal police weapons was a sort of 'sound cannon' that they would use to disperse crowds.
Apparently it gives off the resonant frequency of your chest cavity ( if memory serves me right ) and makes anyone within a certain area start throwing up within seconds. Kinda like tear gas but without the gas, and with alot of lost lunches.
-Maz
Hmm interesting. Because I know an audiophile that said he auditioned a system that did over 200dB.
My stereo isn't simply for going loud. I desire only the finest audio reproduction. If there is any distortion or problem with the sound it annoys me very much.
The amps and speakers must be completely transparent and the sound uncolored and original....
This is why I'm not sure what the dB output is. I don't have enough experience with dB's since i've never had any equipment that functioned exclusively upon that rating.
Put it this way though, I would never dare to be in a room the size of a typical master bedroom with my stereo at full volume for fear of damaging something badly. I never crank it that loud unless it's outside and I'm testing.
My stereo isn't simply for going loud. I desire only the finest audio reproduction. If there is any distortion or problem with the sound it annoys me very much.
The amps and speakers must be completely transparent and the sound uncolored and original....
This is why I'm not sure what the dB output is. I don't have enough experience with dB's since i've never had any equipment that functioned exclusively upon that rating.
Put it this way though, I would never dare to be in a room the size of a typical master bedroom with my stereo at full volume for fear of damaging something badly. I never crank it that loud unless it's outside and I'm testing.
SPL levels
put it this way,---
If your speakers have a sensitivity of 90 db @1W and 1m, which is fairly normal these days, feeding them 100W gives an SPL of 110 dB SPL, 113 if both channels get the same signal simultaneously. Similarly, a 1kW combo will give 120 db SPL at 1m, which is the reference distance. A composite signal like music, is generally perceived to be somewhat louder, even if the signal peak level will usually be related to a single note.
Also, SPL decreases with the square of the distance ratio,- doubling the distance decreases the level with 6 dB.
That's why I would seriously question the referred 167 dB , not to mention the 200....
BTW- the average pain treshold is concidered to be appx. 130 dB..............
put it this way,---
If your speakers have a sensitivity of 90 db @1W and 1m, which is fairly normal these days, feeding them 100W gives an SPL of 110 dB SPL, 113 if both channels get the same signal simultaneously. Similarly, a 1kW combo will give 120 db SPL at 1m, which is the reference distance. A composite signal like music, is generally perceived to be somewhat louder, even if the signal peak level will usually be related to a single note.
Also, SPL decreases with the square of the distance ratio,- doubling the distance decreases the level with 6 dB.
That's why I would seriously question the referred 167 dB , not to mention the 200....
BTW- the average pain treshold is concidered to be appx. 130 dB..............
And incase you dont know, DUO, SPL is an exponentially increasing curve ( i think ). ..i'ts certainly not a linear increase.
92db efficiency speakers are like 2x as loud with the same power at the same distance as 89db speakers. Not 3db like you would figure.
So, like they said above 137 is the level of a jet engine at 1 meter....and i'm pretty sure your eardrums can rupture at some point around 140-145db....though i'm not a doctor, i just play one on TV.
-Maz
92db efficiency speakers are like 2x as loud with the same power at the same distance as 89db speakers. Not 3db like you would figure.
So, like they said above 137 is the level of a jet engine at 1 meter....and i'm pretty sure your eardrums can rupture at some point around 140-145db....though i'm not a doctor, i just play one on TV.
-Maz
OK, few days ago i listened with the new horn system i my horn thread. The tweeter horn should be around 109dB/W or so, the altec i don´t know, 100? . I don´t know if girls say everytimes it is to loud, but my girl friend was very sure this is too loud and i´m mad. The voltmeter over TD2001(8ohm) had shown a few 100 mV average, max peak at 4V.
calculation is up to you.
calculation is up to you.
The calculations aren't that complicated...
Take a 100dB sens.system, feed it 1 kW,- you get 130dB...
Now every time you double something, you win 3 dB. To get the 167 dB, you need 12+ doublings, or 2^12 = 4096
That's alot of amps and speakers, and I would hate to do the maths of keeping the impedances within limits...
Back in the 70ies, Grateful Dead was credited of having the largest PA system of that time, som 60 kW of amp power and well over 1000 speaker units, as I recall, but this was and will still be ditributed over the entire audio band, so it is not as simple as adding up amps and speakers....
Take a 100dB sens.system, feed it 1 kW,- you get 130dB...
Now every time you double something, you win 3 dB. To get the 167 dB, you need 12+ doublings, or 2^12 = 4096
That's alot of amps and speakers, and I would hate to do the maths of keeping the impedances within limits...
Back in the 70ies, Grateful Dead was credited of having the largest PA system of that time, som 60 kW of amp power and well over 1000 speaker units, as I recall, but this was and will still be ditributed over the entire audio band, so it is not as simple as adding up amps and speakers....
Watts DB
1 90
2 93
4 96
8 99
16 102
32 105
64 108
128 111
256 114
512 117
1,024 120
2,048 123
4,096 126
8,192 129
16,384 132
32,768 135
65,536 138
131,072 141
262,144 144
524,288 147
1,048,576 150
2,097,152 153
4,194,304 156
8,388,608 159
16,777,216 162
33,554,432 165
67,108,864 168
134,217,728 171
268,435,456 174
536,870,912 177
1,073,741,824 180
2,147,483,648 183
4,294,967,296 186
8,589,934,592 189
17,179,869,184 192
34,359,738,368 195
68,719,476,736 198
137,438,953,472 201
Well I'm using two main speakers with dual 12" drivers for 400W each, 70W 5" dome mids, and 50W horn tweeters, to secondary speakers each with dual 12" 280W drivers, and dual 45W mid/tweeters in two way. The tertiary speakers are with each one 8" woofer at 200W and a piezo tweeter at 25W. There are two alpine R type 10" 300W subs in sealed enclosures tuned to 51.3Hz.
All enclosures are sealed and full power is approached at about 1.5 times the speaker ratings for short periods of time.
All enclosures are sealed and full power is approached at about 1.5 times the speaker ratings for short periods of time.
Decibels are a log scale for intensity. If you have a 10dB sound and a 50dB sound the difference in intensity is 10^4.
Heres an interesting fact. At the lowest intensity that we can hear, 1X10^-12 (10dB) your eardrum moves 1.1x10^-11 meters. This distance is not much bigger than the width of an atom. At 140dB (threshold of pain) your eardrum moves 3.5x10^-4 meters. I'd hate to think what 300dB would do.
Jason
Heres an interesting fact. At the lowest intensity that we can hear, 1X10^-12 (10dB) your eardrum moves 1.1x10^-11 meters. This distance is not much bigger than the width of an atom. At 140dB (threshold of pain) your eardrum moves 3.5x10^-4 meters. I'd hate to think what 300dB would do.
Jason
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