Hello, Recently I got HD800s and a FiiO K5 Pro and I really love these headphones, detail and soundstage sounds amazing but I find myself needing like 11,5 o’clock in mid gain on my amp to enjoy songs like Hold On by Amber Rubarth to retrieve enough detail to get into a zen state.
My GF says that this volume is loud but she’s also a very quiet person so I asked her to set a volume that will be borderline loud for her and she set it to like10 o’clock. When I tried that volume setting it sounded just boring to me , I could hear perfectly the music but the little echo’s of instruments and little details were not hearable nearly as clearly or unhearable at all for me.
That volume kind of nullifies the entire point of having TOTL headphones because its like buying a Super expensive gaming PC just to play League of Legends .
I know that till 84db it is a safe volume level but I don’t have any ear rig to test it so how do you find you’r safe volume level and at what volume you analytically enjoy music or compare headphones?
When I had the k5 pro, I remember being at 1/2 o clock for my ndh 20 and like 3/4 o clock for 6xx on mid gain. Your hearing is different throughout the day. I will typically increase volume until I hear all the details in the music and then step it back a bit and leave it.
I do a rough approximate with a free app on my phone. It seem decently calibrated - talking is about 60 dBspl, ambient noise is about 20, etc. Obviously not accurate, but good enough of an approximate.
As for listening volume, I like to turn it up to “real-life volume.” If I’m getting fatigued, I slowly turn it down. According to my phone, I listen at around 60 dBspl-70 dBspl.
84 Db’s is crazy loud. You will do damage with sustained listening at that level.
I bought a cheap decibel meter on Amazon for about $25.00.
My listening is usually 65 to 75Db’s. Might go louder for the odd song, but the ears fight back after a while.
Hello,
What I personally noticed with the cheap dacs or amps and as a combo you have to turn up the volume and describe exactly what your girlfriend says.
My girlfriend had the same topic when I was using the cheaper dac/amp.
Since I decided to buy a more expensive dac/amp for about 700$ I don’t have these discussions with her anymore.
Meanwhile with the Dac I usually start at 40 db, and is so radio volume if it should get louder I am usually at 50-55 db and then get all the details sent over.
If I like a song that I like to listen to louder then it is at 60-65 db but then it’s over. after I have heard the song I usually turn it back a little bit.
I don’t want to generalize that the cheap dac/amps are bad but also because of the cost of the dac/amps there is little attention on the volume potentiometer which is sometimes a pity because too much current goes through in a short time and so no nominal volume increase is guaranteed.
Similar to a light switch that you press to turn on the light instead of a dimmer switch where you turn it to turn it brighter and brighter, figuratively speaking.
Try to find a level that is appropriate for both sides, and understand your girlfriend’s concerns because she thinks that if he continues to listen so loudly he will go deaf.
This is normal, but would probably say something if she would hear so loud all the time.
Otherwise if you have the opportunity to test a high quality dac, take a look at what happens when you turn up the volume, you’ll soon notice that if you turn up the volume a little bit you’ll get a high detail with minimal increase and then you’ll notice that it’s actually quite pleasant.
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