Some headphones "healthier" than others?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-11 11:41pm

Fighter of Foo wrote:It's not that it doesnt sound good, i just like it loud. Really loud.

Presumably you like it loud so you can hear the details and such? No offense, but it makes little sense to like something loud for the sake of it being loud, especially considering the long-term damage.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-11 11:58pm

Well, if I'm listening to say Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, or any one of my other Metal CD's it's sometimes hard to resist the urge to crank the volume up a bit, or a lot depending on my mood. Some types of music just beg to be played at full blast, and it can be hard to resist doing so.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-10-11 11:59pm

aerius wrote:Well, if I'm listening to say Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, or any one of my other Metal CD's it's sometimes hard to resist the urge to crank the volume up a bit, or a lot depending on my mood. Some types of music just beg to be played at full blast, and it can be hard to resist doing so.

Mrm, true that. One certain music I like cranking up the volume on my speakers, though that's mainly because they don't work that well at low powerlevels.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-10-12 02:52pm

I like to listen to music (on speakers) as loud as possible without distortion.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-12 08:19pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:I like to listen to music (on speakers) as loud as possible without distortion.

You might live, you might not. Some speakers can play cleanly without distortion at levels that'll cause permanent hearing loss within half an hour, others will crap out at moderate levels. IIRC you'll be fine as long as the sound level is kept to under 80dB or so. Sound level meters can be found at Radio Shack & other such electronics stores.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2003-10-12 10:48pm

Speakers, not headphones. I keep my headphones at a managealbe level as to not cause myself any permentent damage.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-10-12 11:21pm

Speakers can still cause hearing damage with ease. For example my parent's home stereo system can hit average levels of about 100dB which can cause permanent hearing damage in under 15 minutes, and it'll do this with minimal distortion. Doesn't take much power to do this either, with efficient speakers a mere 8W will play loud enough to make your ears ring for the rest of the day.

As a general rule speakers are better for your hearing since you have a better sense of how loud they are, but they can still whack you if you're not careful.