Need to turn the volume louder now

[cdub5]

So I've had my rf 82 fronts and rc62 since last February. I power them with a Yamaha rxv671. it seems as time goes by I have to keep turning the volume louder to get the same levels of volume. by this I mean I used to set the volume at -28db for normal tv watching, and -14db for bluray when we crank it for movies. now when watching tv I have to set volume to upwards of -20db to -18db and -8db to -4db for bluray. is this normal? is my receiver failing? I like to watch tv loud when watching nfl, but even when cranking volume up to even -14 or more, it's still not that loud. it used to get so much louder. these speakers still get plenty loud and powerful for movies, but as stated earlier that's with turning volume higher than I used to.

[TasDom]

it seems as time goes by I have to keep turning the volume louder to get the same levels of volume.

I believe the technical term for this is called old age []

Have you re ran the YPAO recently? It may have re set the speaker trim levels lower than they were previously set at. When I run my Audyssey, it sets all speakers at -12 and I adjust up a few db on each.

[cdub5]

I haven't ran the ypao again, but I have manually increased the volume of each of the speakers. still lacking. don't want to have to wander to far from the ypao calibration.

[Beechnut]

Run it again, and maybe once or twice more to see if you are getting consistsnt results from the setup. Several variables that can mess with a calibration. Change of furniture, calibration mic stable and in the same spot, positioning of the speakers, many more.

If you're happy with the sound after that but the new volume levels are different and stay at that same level of different, I'd stick with it and enjoy.

[picky]

cdub5: I'm not trying to be funny here, but has anyone else who regularly listens in the room with you also noticed this decrease in volume? If not, there may be some concern that the volume levels are effectively hurting your hearing. Seriously! I remember when I got my first pair of really good speakers years ago. I noticed the same phenomenon of dimished volume. I thoought something was wrong with the system too, until one day when a co-worker asked me, "Why are you talking so loud?" He was serious and said he'd noticed the change over the past few weeks. I turned the system down and a couple of weekes later, the coworker mentioned that I was speaking more quietly, too. Thankfully, the damage was apparently not permanent. I'm only suggesting that this might be happening to you. You can use a sound level meter to measure the output levels at your seat and write it down as your benchmark. Then, next time you think you need to turn it up again, take another reading at the same position with the same sound source material and volume setting and see if the reading is the same or lower that last time. That should tell the story of what's really happening. Best of luck! -Glenn

[cdub5]

My wife noticed the volume decrease as well. I don't think it's an ear issue. My hearing seems to be just fine, and hopefully that holds up. I can say that after watching a movie sometimes my ears can have a slight ringing to them. I seem to be the only one who suffers from this in my house. This happened after we first watched Avengers, and I had it pretty loud. I try to not go too crazy with the volume, but sometimes it's great to blast it. Usually only turn it up on the weekends for family movie night. Thanks for the advice and tips. I'll probably try running the YPAO again and see what happens. I was hoping everyone would say I need a new receiver. Haha.

[mustang guy]

My wife noticed the volume decrease as well. I don't think it's an ear issue. My hearing seems to be just fine, and hopefully that holds up. I can say that after watching a movie sometimes my ears can have a slight ringing to them. I seem to be the only one who suffers from this in my house. This happened after we first watched Avengers, and I had it pretty loud. I try to not go too crazy with the volume, but sometimes it's great to blast it. Usually only turn it up on the weekends for family movie night. Thanks for the advice and tips. I'll probably try running the YPAO again and see what happens. I was hoping everyone would say I need a new receiver. Haha.

Nah, you need a pre-pro unit.

[derrickdj1]

I don't think it's an ear issue

Each year about 1 in 10 adults nationwide has an episode of tinnitus that lasts longer than 3 months. Tinnitus isn’t a disease. Instead, it’s a symptom that something is wrong with your auditory system. Ringing in the ears should be investigated since it can be associated with hearing loss. Listening above 80 decibles on a regular basis or prolong time peroid is associated with hearing loss. I like big amps and big speakers that can get loud but, never listen that loud except for BD movies, usually around -15 and no longer than 2 hours.

[garyrc]

Listening above 80 decibles on a regular basis or prolong time peroid is associated with hearing loss.

There are a lot of "ifs," "ands" and "buts." 80 dB is not a magic
number. I'd be inclined to say "on a regular basis AND for a prolonged
time peroid." Constant industrial noise is more damaging than most
music at the same sound pressure levels, because it is
constant. Some Rock and a few other continuously loud types of music
can be more damaging than most Jazz, Classical, or modern orchestral
music (including movie scores) because the latter types have a lot of variation, and give your
ears some rest. The 80 dB figure crops up from time to time (even at
the Lawrence Hall of Science) but is usually given without reference to constancy and duration. I think that's because it is about the level that has become a ceiling goal for continuous noise in industrial exposure. Businesses are required to inform employees if they are being exposed to sound that is continuous (or repeats once per second or more frequently) that is 85 dB or more for eight hours. OSHA maximums are 80 dB contiuous for eight hours, 100 dB continuous for two hours, or 115 dB for 1/4 hour.

For sound that is not constant, 80 dB is not particularly loud. Don Keele (Dope from Hope, vol
16, No 1, January 1977) characterised 85 dB as "Medium Level." 90 to
100 dB was described as being "Loud," and 105 to 110 dB as "Very Loud."
115 dB was called "Too Damn Loud," but even 115 dB -- for just a moment at a time
-- is needed during the greatest orchestral climaxes. As Paul Klipsch
put it, you need "115 dB at your ears" --- once again, just for
momentary peaks -- to simulate the "blood stirring levels" of a symphony
orchestra. I heard about many measurements of the SPL of orchestral
climaxes from the close seats, and I've made a few myself. Typical measurements for peaks during these climaxes with analog needle meters would be about 100 dB, C wt., on "Slow" and up to about 110 dB on "Fast." Needle ballistics cause the very brief peak readings to be about 13 dB low (according to PWK in a DfH). Modern, digital peak reading meters may show those peaks at their real levels. I'm guessing that I listen to very loud sequences at 80 to 100 dB, but I've seen my C wt., "Fast" analog needle jump up to 105 dB ocassionaly (118 dB unread), and it sounds great.

If a person has tinnitus more caution may be needed -- I don't know. Frequently cited experiences that are associated with tinnitus are unprotected industrial exposure, military exposure, Rock or other music with low dynamic range and high levels, and taking certain drugs.

In movies, it seems to me that if the dialog is at a realistic level, the rest of the soundtrack should be within the safe range for the duration the loud sounds are present. THX's old tests on the 70mm 6 track version of The Empire Strikes Back produced 108 dB in the midrange and 110 dB in the bass for the loudest passages. Some passages that seem loud, aren't. The most constant roar I've heard in a movie was in the chariot race in Ben-Hur. I wondered, "How can they do that without making the audience deaf?" On my second viewing (in the theater) I measured it, and it was not that loud (I wish I remembered the exact figure). Two moments in the same movie (spoilers, therefore I won't name them) were very much louder -- one lasted only about 3 seconds, and hit about 110 dB on my C/fast analog meter. The other one had repeated bursts that were probably just as loud, or louder, but I was too engrossed to measure them. On the DVD, both of these moments have been dynamically compressed (to save cheap speakers?), a pity. I haven't tried the Blu-ray yet. I did hear that the speakers in Ted Turner's projection room were blown out by Ben-Hur, I'd guess during moment #2.

Since modern movies have great dynamic range, and most CDs, and even SACDs do not, the movies are mastered at a lower level to leave room for the peaks. For this reason, if I've had a CD on, then put on a movie, I find I often have to turn the movie up. I'm not counting the almost always too loud previews. Seting the playack volume for a movie based on the endless cacophonous previews will almost always lead to the movie being played at too low a volume -- Dolby warned them about that, they listened at first, but a few years later they went back to having the previews too loud, thus shooting themselves in the foot.

[derrickdj1]

I enjoyed your post Garyrc. As an audio hobbist, it is good to see others on the forum who take auditory health seriouly. The 80-85 db number is for a duration of 6-8 hours. I remeber reading a post several months ago about a forum member that was loosing his hearing. His hearing lost was multifactorial, Tinnitus can be a sign of thyroid disease, diabetes, meds, tumors, aging, high blood pressure and a host of other causes. Tinnitus is a symptom that shoud be investigated. It could be as simple as an ear wax plug[].