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[–] 39 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I specifically purchase noise cancelling headphones / earbuds now since it makes it easy to listen at MUCH quieter levels. I have done some tests with the noise cancelling disabled and setting the volume and with it on.. It really makes a huge difference as I am not cranking it up to drowned out noise on transit or walking down the street.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    Came here say this. Absolutely agree. Being able to reduce background noise is huge.

    As a side point - having a car that's quiet has really allowed me to enjoy music at a much more reasonable level when driving as well.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I bought some Sony XM4s because I'd heard this theory before but I found noise cancelling barely makes a difference.

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  • [+] 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    The overear headphones. The ANC just made no difference.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Odd I have tested them in stores before and they are typically well rated.

    However I was using Bose QC II for a few years and now I use the apple air pod pros.

    For in ear seal is really important for nose canceling and apple also provides a test mode / app on apple devices to test that sound isn’t leaking substantially.

    Makes no difference in a quiet environment but will easily cancel out a loud air conditioner or most traffic noise from passing cars.

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    It's 1 better than 10 louder, innit?

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  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago

    WHAT? SORRY I CANT HEAR ANYMORE

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (7 children)

    I try to target under 70db to protect my ears. Some earbuds and DAC's can show you a db estimate

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    [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    Sound engineer here. Please protect your ears people, there’s no way to reverse hearing damage.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago

    depends.

    In the middle of angry-programming? The linkin park will be turned up to 80%. I want to make sure Chester's screams wakes the dead.

    Business as usual? around 20%. Enough to drown out external noises.

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  • [+] 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
    [–] 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    I use the headphone safety feature of my phone to limit it to 80dB. Anything higher and you’re risking permanent hearing loss.

    Guide.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago
    [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    As quietly as possible, you don't notice hearing damage until it's too late to do anything about it.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    10-15% on earphones. However, that doesn't really mean anything. Different sound card and headphone combination will produce different loudness at same levels.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    I'm just going to take this moment to remind everyone not to destroy their hearing. Back in highschool I used to blast my ears with headphones at maximum volume and go to loud venues without hearing protection. I've been permanently listening to EEEEEEEEEEEEE ever since. That was 25 years ago. It never goes away folks. Stay safe!

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago*

    20% typically. I prefer to be able to hear my surroundings clearly still

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    I listen at a low volume. I'm usually doing something else as well, so loud music is too distracting and irritating. I'm old, and I can still hear very well except for spousal deafness.

    I love that the font size on this post is twice as big as all the others.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago
    [–] 4 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Some very arbitrary answers up in here

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    [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    on speakers? reasonable minus a notch or two

    on headphones? cranked

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    20-40% when I'm at home and there are no noises that interrupt the sound. 50-75% when I'm outside and can't hear anything on lower levels. I try to keep this stuff as quiet as possible so as not to damage my hearing

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago*

    Depends. My IEMs have higher impedance than your usual pair of headphones, and then it also depends on what I'm listening to from my self-ripped .flac library. Right now I am listening to Savage Amusement by Scorpions and I can listen to it enjoyably at 65 out of 120 on my Walkman. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is a tad bit quieter so on that album I have 75. Usually it's around this volume range, but sometimes if it's a raw grimey death metal album I have to go even higher.

    tl;dr:

    It mostly depends on how loud or quiet the album I'm listening to is.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    I primarily listen to music in my car and it’s usually as loud as I can stand.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    With headphones and speakers it is always as quietly as possible since I already have ear damage, I don't want more.

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  • [+] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    WHAT?

    Jokes aside, just over 50% system volume in general with apps and headphones maxed out. My hearing is so/so. I wish it were below 50 but it's just too quiet like that

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    I use Reduce Loud Sounds on the iPhone with my AirPods Pro to reduce the maximum volume to 80dB so that I don’t damage my hearing. That way, I can crank the volume buttons to maximum without having to think about it, knowing that it will be safe.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Full on speakers, around 50% to 80% on IEMs/headphones; depends on the max volume I can do without getting tinnitus.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    For short car journeys or if I'm sharing, quietish background level

    If I'm motorwaying it alone, fairly (but not stupidly) loud

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