Estimating Headphone Volume

Discussion in 'Audiophiles: Headphones, Earphones, etc.' started by tinyman392, Dec 17, 2011.

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  1. tinyman392 Super Moderator

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    It's gonna say its be notch, but it isn't.
    tinyman392, Jan 23, 2012
    #71

  2. jsp20 Well-Known Member

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    If listening to full blast is bad for your ears then why do the companies let you go that high? I can guarantee I'm not gonna mess up my ears for the rest of my life, I listen to my music at about 4 bars with my apple in-ear headphones.
    jsp20, Jan 23, 2012
    #72

  3. f41lurizer Well-Known Member

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    [MENTION=169931]tinyman392[/MENTION] after reading this thread, I set a volume limit on my iPhone to about half, then my max volume is half that (25%). Most of the time I'm on about 12.5% total iPhone volume...
    Using some DUNU tridents....I'm more than fine, right?
    f41lurizer, Jan 23, 2012
    #73

  4. tinyman392 Super Moderator

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    I generally listen to the Tridents at 25%, you're fine.
    tinyman392, Jan 23, 2012
    #74

  5. f41lurizer Well-Known Member

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    wonderful :D
    f41lurizer, Jan 24, 2012
    #75

  6. APV Well-Known Member

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    Because it's the person's choice to ruin their hearing.
    APV, Jan 26, 2012
    #76

  7. ScorpioGTX1 New Member

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    Holy sh*t. With an iPod Nano and Bowers and Wilkins P5s, 50% volume is 90dB, and I usually listen slightly above. And here I always thought that I was listening to my music at a very reasonable and safe level. My grandparents fought a world war and my hearing is going to end up being no better than theirs if I keep this up. This has been very eye-opening, and I thank you for sharing this. I'm going to make an effort to not listen to my music too loud anymore.

    I had read this article where they said that listening to an iPod at 80% volume was safe. Ha! Far from it. But really, Apple and other companies should really make an effort to bring more awareness to this issue. They always say that listening to music at excessively high levels can cause hearing damage, but they never say what "excessively loud" is. Apparently it's a lot less than I thought.

    The equation says that at max volume, output should be about 102dB. I'd be interested to get my hands on a decibel meter and see how the real numbers compare to these calculations. Secretly I'm hoping the equation overestimates, but I know it probably doesn't.
    ScorpioGTX1, Mar 14, 2012
    #77

  8. tinyman392 Super Moderator

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    I'm glad this has been eye opening for you, it's the purpose. It's always good to get a general idea of where you're at. I don't know the exact output of a Nano, but I'd be willing to bet it's around 1 v (most likely less though). It can over estimate your Nano's output a little, but if it does, shouldn't be by too much.

    At full volume, the output (from an iPod Touch) would be 1.11v from the device. Apple has no control over how loud something can get, it's the headphone company that does that. For example, Etymotic has tried to fight this problem with their EtyKid's headphones which boost 300 ohm resistance and can't go over 88 dB SPL at full volume. Apple, however, has no control over how much a pair of headphones will put out.
    tinyman392, Mar 14, 2012
    #78

  9. iBricked Well-Known Member

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    I got some Philips cheap IEMs for school and I used your calculator and I got 93DBs. Now I am super worried about my ears, I took a frequency listening test (from my science teacher) and it seems to be fine. I think I might lower it though.

    I think this might be due to me only using one ear(my right one) so I can use my left to pick up background noise from people who might need my help. Is this bad for my ears? To be going medium-loud on one ear and background on the other?

    EDIT: I just realied that I was using that with my old earphones which were terrible. I'm actually listening at 0.25/1 and its 70db so I'm fine. Thanks.
    iBricked, Mar 25, 2012
    #79

  10. tinyman392 Super Moderator

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    Updated the OP with some information regarding hearing loss with high levels.

    Please look at this blog post for more information concerning hearing loss (both temporary and permanent): https://jhaudioblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/hearing-101-how-loud-is-loud/
    tinyman392, Jul 6, 2012
    #80
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