They are candidates for sure. But I am waiting for some other drivers directly from the OEM.
I have an SPL meter + use a 440hz tone.
Edit: Link for SPL meter (aliexpress)
Damn, arenât those pretty as f***.
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Thanks for taking care of them ![]()

okay interesting! so you use a 440hz tone! I have an SPL meter too that looks pretty much the same as the one you linked. how do you fit the IEM on? I cut some rubber hose and put it over the top of the meter after removing the foam and screw on cover.
So I tested the 440hz tone and I get 71db at the same power that I was getting 75db with the pink noise! Very interesting
I made a styrofoam tube where I slide the iem into it and it touches the mic.
I always aim for 77db as itâs a comfortable level for me, not because itâs a magical number ![]()
I totally get it, its more about consistency and comfort than anything else. Its just hard when people say donât listen over 85db for extended amount of time or else you will damage your hearing yet music bounces all over the place, its not like people are listening to sine waves for 4 hours straight!
I realized after we talked that I was definitely listening to music too loud and now listen way lower. I usually start my day around 100 RMS (roughly 72db @ 440hz) but if I am getting into the music it can go upwards of ~260 RMS (92db @ 440hz). Before I was at 530 RMS (99db @ 440hz)!!
Take care of your ears man, you only have a pairâŚ
I would not go over 85db. I actually canât, it just rips my head off.
Hi,
I think there is no right way in my opinion.
Donât look at short burst of peak volume as those may be caused by so-called transients (which may be in 20-30 dB SPL in range) and as long as those peaks are not in 110dB range and are short (as name suggest) you should be fine.
Setting a volume for AB with SPL meter is one thing (and in my opinion it is more truthful based on pink noise of some kind than on sine wave as it "dissolves "/averages the varying frequency response of the IEM), but checking how loud you are listening is impossible unless you have positive model of your concha and ear canal molded ![]()
Oooh that would be very interesting and surely very welcome! It sounds kind of like the bud version of the Focal Clear which Iâd be all for!
Focal Clear OG is my favourite pair of headphones and one of the best transducers Iâve heard.
Great taste
I should grab it rn ![]()
totally, its important to take care of our ears. The whole not going over 85db though is kind of my point. No two people measure the same way so your power setting for 85db may measure 90 db to someone else. Also since in actual practice music (at least what i listen to) is too dynamic to just pick a number set by measuring a static SPL. At 85db some songs I listen to can go up to the mid 90s and down to the low 70s.
If someone is measuring with a goal to not go over a certain db Iâm wondering if it makes more sense to measure at the highest peak of an IEMs FR graph since in theory nothing sound play higher than that⌠Just a thought
I only care 100% when im hearing, but im too trained to know when im around that bracket without even touching the meter.
Guess that also comes after you listened critically more than 100 setsâŚ
On buds i always find myself closer to 80@ 440hz
Itâs more about your average listening level. Of course if you get a small burst, or even a longer amount of time of 90+db, youâre not going to go deaf. The people that cheer at an NFL game, to the extent they set off earthquake measuring equipment, didnât go deaf from that.
But prolonged exposure to constant loud sounds harm. Itâs like going to a dentist office and they give you the giant lead coat to hold, while they leave the room. You getting one set of shots of radiation wonât harm you with basic protections. Them firing that radiation multiple times a day for days, weeks, months, or years would accumulate, if they were in the room every single time.
Well I been rambling too much and speaking about sets too little.
Iâll shoot some darts:
Planar market is so uninspired that you lose any will of picking them up.
The bracket circa 300-400 was left alone like a xmas tree outside the house to be picked up later.
Tribids (600 bracket) did not evolve.
Retunes, colabs, recolors. What the hell.
Well, back to ramblings.
I usually listen at around 75db long sessions, and 85db around an hour max every other day, so my hearing is still fine. Just donât be blasting your ears for more than an hour everyday and youâre gucci.
@nymz Business is business after all
Itâs hard since diminishing returns is a real thing that limits companies from being more liberal with their pricing. But ya, retunes and stuff are really annoying. Pays well I guess?
Now a days, I try not to listen to anything louder than 80 db. About level 20-25 on the BTR7 in low gain on a set like the OH10. But when I was younger, Jesus Christ I must have not really cared about my ears.
I remember, I was about 14, 15 years old, I would listen to music on BLAST - 100% out of a MacBook for literal HOURS. I had just found so much new music, and Alive 2007 had just come out and I would just torrent entire albums, and jam out all day. My tinnitus must
Have developed then. No bueno, boys. Take care of ya ears!
Oh yeah, ![]()
I got approached about if there was any set id like to take a retune on, and sincerly, thereâs not much atm.
Market is over saturated as hell.
when I was younger some of my friends were the âfull blast music when in a carâ type, also blasting music in their basement so loud it shook the concrete floor, meanwhile I was like âwhy do you need it this loud it actually hurtsâ lol
I get it and I didnât mean to throw the thread into a db conversation. My point is that people talk about what is a safe db to listen to but in my opinion there isnât a consistent and good way to measure it. I doubt anyone is actually tracking the SPL of the music they listen to real time and averaging it. For instance, pretty much every pink noise track on Spotify is 10-15db lower than the normal SPL of songs so if you tried to set your volume based on that you will probably blow out your ears.
At the end of the day its about being able to enjoy the music and you canât do that if your ears are broken so I will continue listening at the lowest volume that allows me to enjoy the music, whatever that db may be.
Thatâs all I got on the matter, sorry again for throwing the thread off.
