You are not logged in. Please login or register.
RME User Forum → ADI-2 & 2/4 Pro series, ADI-2 DAC series → Safe listening levels for an ADI-2 + U12T IEMs?
I use my 64 Audio U12Ts for everything. Taking calls, listening to music, production, etc. They're in my ears 18 hours a day. And 95% of the time they are plugged into the ADI-2.
I know that listening at loud levels for longer times can damage your hearing but what's "too loud" on the ADI-2? I know it depends on the IEM too so hopefully one of you have this combo and can tell me.
Thanks!
Long ago someone teached it to me :
For headphones : Play a piece of loud music
Turn the knob and make it loud on your headphones to where you like it
Then turn the knob backwards about 10 minutes of the clock.
Let it there, don't make it louder.
What is your age ?
What is the conditions of your ears ?
What do you play ?
CD or streaming ?
Duration of that music ?
Too many variables to take in count.
Not possible to give a value !
Good loudspeakers don't need fullpower to deliver a good sound.
Your headphones are very expensive so I guess they sound very good when the volume knob is somewhere in the middle
waedi is right, not possible to give a (simple) value.
I have tinnitus my hole life, 62 years now. Too loud and the sound in my head explodes. An indoor party with many people i can not stand a whole evening, a concert with acoustic instruments is possible, because they don't play full power the whole time. I can sit aside a large concert grand piano, but I avoid sitting in the first rows, if it is a big band with a full brass line or a japanese drummers group.
A good rule for normal ears of adults is 80 db for a whole day, 85 db for 8 hours (this is what you get standing on a sidewalk with dence urban traffic, or sitting close to a large concert grand piano), every 3db more halve the time. Young ears are more endangered, their limits should be 5db lower.
More can trigger a hearing loss or tinnitus, temporarily or irreparably. I can assure you that this really sucks! Be careful.
There is enough information on the internet that you can easily Google to familiarize yourself with this issue. How loud something gets in the headphones ultimately depends not only on the impedance of the headphones but also the efficiency of the drivers/speakers used in the headphones.
I use a relatively inexpensive sound pressure meter with a maximum level display to get certainty about the best volume setting for listening to monitors or headphones.
https://www.thomann.de/de/digital_sound … _meter.htm
I just measured again, my "feel-good volume" is about 70-75 dBA over headphones. For listening via monitors at 65-73 dBA. The difference I can not really explain, is possibly due to the type of measurement that I point at the monitors in the direction of the sound source, when measuring the headphones I simply put the meter between the two headphone shells.
I have quite sensible ears, so 80dB would be enough for me personally close to the ear and in the nearfield.
There is no simple way to measure your accumulated sound level exposure if you use IEMs.
Sound Exposure Dosimeters work with built-in microphones and are placed on your body, so they do not work with headphones of any kind at all.
Even if dummy ears were used to get a reference, there is no standard because all standards are related to free air sound pressure level, so don’t expect any figures you can rely on.
18 hours a day is a very long period, so you need to stay way below the standard level for workplaces.
As a rule of thumb you should not go over the level of a normal human, talking to you.
This is relatively quiet, but one can get used to it.
In general, for such long periods, you should go as quiet as possible.
I suggest to use ADI-2’s loudness function, the boosted bass and upper treble has a lot lower payload on your hearing and makes it possible to further reduce the listening level, while keeping a natural sound balance impression.
Sidenote:
Wearing IEMs for such a long period per day might be physically unhealthy because of the lack of air going through your ear channels.
Long-term you might suffer from mycosis and other infections.
Think about mixing the listening time with circumaural headphones.
Some good points KaiS.
RME User Forum → ADI-2 & 2/4 Pro series, ADI-2 DAC series → Safe listening levels for an ADI-2 + U12T IEMs?
Powered by PunBB, supported by Informer Technologies, Inc.