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Paul's Posts — 08 August 2012

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A number of you correctly pointed out I incorrectly called Michael Fremer a Vinylphobe instead of a Vinylphile – nice McGowan!  Sorry about that Michael, I would guess most of you know Michael’s not terrified by vinyl!

So what is it about people that makes us want to turn the volume up on anything we hear that we like?  Is that your experience as well?  If I am in the car or the listening room and listening to music and a track comes on I love, I naturally turn the volume up a little louder – it’s something I have always done and something I notice people doing all the time – sort of like an impulsive move.

This happens even if the volume level was perfect for the room and the system and the piece.  Odd.

In the same way I have noticed people will always choose the louder of two pieces of equipment as better.  Loudness has a lot to do with our perception of better and I am sure someone has figured out why.

‘Tis a mystery to me.

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About Author

Paul McGowan

Paul McGowan is the CEO and co-founder of PS Audio Inc. a Boulder Colorado design and manufacturing company of high-end audio products and services. McGowan has been designing and building high-end products for nearly 40 years. Hobbies include skiing, music, hiking, artisan bread baking, kick boxing and cooking. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his 4 sons.

(9) Readers Comments

  1. Ivan

    August 8, 2012 at 6:17 am

    The “louder=better” phenomenon can skew our preferences when the difference in loudness is too small to be recognized as such. That can get very confusing when comparing transducers, as each will be louder than the other at some frequencies and softer at others. Since frequency balance is different for every piece of music, that can lead you to choose as “better” that one that’s louder on the particular recording you’re playing.

  2. Tom

    August 8, 2012 at 6:26 am

    “Anything, no matter how bad, will sound good if played back at a very high level for a short time.” (John Culshaw, High Fidelity, November 1977.)

  3. hahax

    August 8, 2012 at 6:44 am

    Given the response of our ears to highs and especially lows is level dependent. And If I recall correctly our ears/brain are roughly flat at very loud levels of about 100db, reproduction will only sound correct(assuming good mastering) at the level at the listener’s ears it sounded flat when it was mastered which I suspect is fairly loud. Otherwise it is bass and treble shy and unbalanced.

  4. petewilson

    August 8, 2012 at 7:18 am

    I think the ‘physics’ explanation is that (within reasonable limits) whacking the volume up not only has the emotional response of more excitement, but also lets you hear more into the detail. Your ear/brain will non-linearly compress the high volume peaks, so you’re not actually hearing a wider dynamic range.

    Oops. Sounds like we’re acting like commercial recording studios :-)

    Incidentally, Paul, my Absolute Sound arrived yesterday. If it had been someone other than Mr Cordesman (whose analysis and writing and listening skills I’ve respected for years), I wouldn’t have believed the review. Well done, sir! Now can I have a PW DAC for less than $4K, and with Audyssey included, and an A/D??

    I know I’m late to the party to discuss the preamp story, but I own such a preamp of the future. Anyone with an “A/V pre-processor” does. Analog in, A/D, D/A, and some defeatable signal processing. I could do without all the energy-wasting video processing and I’d prefer a smaller box. But those things are what you’re talking about, even if not at the quality level y’all perform at. Mine’s an oldish Integra DTC 9.8, and listenable. The Audyssey does help, in real world situations where it’s not practical to build dedicated listening rooms or fix up the space

    – P

  5. Ian Blacker

    August 8, 2012 at 8:25 am

    Why do people play music that they like louder? I think that there are several reasons: 1. To better hear the music. 2. To hear “more” of the music-detail etc. 3. To hear more of the music that is not audible at lower sound levels. 4. To immerse oneself in the “experience” of the piece-unless of course it is country music, which belays the terms music and experience!! Tee, Hee.

    Blessings today, and thank you for your thirst for knowledge of and love for music. Ian Blacker, Lamar, Colorado.

    • August 8, 2012 at 8:29 am

      A fellow Coloradan! Welcome – we are both blessed to live in this state. Enjoy the day and the crickets in the warm summer nights – I truly love the crickets here in Colorado. My only regret is there are no fireflies.

  6. Soundminded

    August 8, 2012 at 10:23 am

    IMO live music has audible dimensions not existant in recorded music that have enormous impact on our minds. These dimensions are spatial and temporal associated with the effects of the acoustics of the live venue. Playing recordngs loud at home is an instinctive attempt to compensate for what should be a large powerful more distant source of sound filling a very large room instead of a small feeble close up source of sound in a very small room by substituting more quantity of what we do have for the quality of what is missing. It doesn’t work. It can also lead to annoying others and to hearing loss. The only way to fix it is with different technology. It’s not the equipment that’s flawed in its execution, it’s the underlying concept behind it.

  7. oliver T. Finch

    August 8, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    It’s not that one turns the volume up but it seems that one listens to pieces that appeal less at a lower volume. If one liked all numbers equally well they all would be played at a higher volume but in reality that is not so.Regards.

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