Lower volume with age ?

poloman1211
poloman1211 Posts: 28
edited August 2010 in Speakers
well i have had my system for a year now. but lately it seems like the sound is lower and i have to turn up the volume. I usually watch movies at -20 db, but now i have to go to -17/ -15 db, to get the same volume. so is something wrong with speakers, wires or the reciever?


thanks
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  • kawizx9r
    kawizx9r Posts: 5,150
    edited August 2010
    Maybe you're just used to it and it doesn't come off as 'loud' anymore. :p
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  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    edited August 2010
    Yeah, as in you're damaging your hearing...

    WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU??

    When I saw the title, I thought you were referring to the listener's age... but I guess it's all relative. :)
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  • poloman1211
    poloman1211 Posts: 28
    edited August 2010
    mmmm, maybe i am going deaf. lol
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  • ZeroCoolPolks
    ZeroCoolPolks Posts: 53
    edited August 2010
    Yamaha actually notes this in some of their manuals. They suggest you remember the settings at the start of a home theater set up and don't increase the volume much over time, because if you are, you are probably damaging your hearing.

    YES, REALLY IN A YAMAHA MANUAL.

    See Bottom of the RX-A1000 manual OR ANY OTHER YAMAHA MANUAL
    Page 4

    "WE WANT YOU TO LISTEN FOR A LIFETIME"
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  • thuffman03
    thuffman03 Posts: 1,325
    edited August 2010
    Have you checked to make sure your amp is still in good shape and not needing someone with skills to bring it back into spec? I also would check to make sure there is nothing wrong with the speakers or your speaker wire.

    Or you could be going def and need to see an Doctor. Hope it is the former and not the ladder.
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  • mmadden28
    mmadden28 Posts: 4,283
    edited August 2010
    Are you talking in general? Or with specific movies listened to last year and again now?

    I've found that shows and commercials, even different DVD's and BluRays vary considerably with the nonminal comfortable listening level. In some cases I'm happy with -20, but in others I need to go up to -6 (just relative examples) but the actual SPL is the same.

    Also, sometimes my remote doesn't always turn my Sub on and it seems less loud overall and makes me feel the need to turn it up--then I realize the sub is off. Make sure your sub is actually on too.

    How old are the speakers? If they are very old the Caps could be aging beyond thier useful life and might need replacement.

    Or maybe it's just time to recalibrate your system, and check/adjust the SPL levels relative to the 0dB reference level on your AVR.
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  • TECHNOKID
    TECHNOKID Posts: 4,298
    edited August 2010
    poloman1211 wrote: »
    well i have had my system for a year now. but lately it seems like the sound is lower and i have to turn up the volume. I usually watch movies at -20 db, but now i have to go to -17/ -15 db, to get the same volume. so is something wrong with speakers, wires or the reciever?


    thanks
    Maybe some simple as wax buildup? ;) Seriously, is this happening only with movies? How about music, radio?
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  • Bobsama
    Bobsama Posts: 526
    edited August 2010
    TECHNOKID wrote: »
    Maybe some simple as wax buildup? ;) Seriously, is this happening only with movies? How about music, radio?

    Just like music, movies are also mastered (sound-wise) at different levels. Could be the media.

    Otherwise, why not invest in an SPL meter? Taking a measurement of so-and-so track and how loud it is from, say, 10', will let you compare something in a reproducible way.
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  • greene1968
    greene1968 Posts: 126
    edited August 2010
    i have the same problem..but i just cant hear worth a flip:D
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited August 2010
    I really don't believe that hearing levels change that much unless you have a real problem. What does go, of course, are the high frequencies..first those just under 20kHz then you drop to around 15 Khz and I suppose that continues as you age...I'm at about 14Khz+ at this point and I'm not even that near retirement age. It suxx. My daughter who is 12 was hearing high pitched sounds in Japanese automatic door mechanisms that neither my wife nor I could hear. Not only did she hear them, they bothered her?

    So I think you're probably OK and as said above.

    1. Volumes vary with source materials.

    2. The Ear becomes accustomed to loud volumes very quickly and then what seemed LOUD is not longer loud enough. This can lead to hearing loss if one is not careful and one likes to blast tunes.

    cnh
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  • greene1968
    greene1968 Posts: 126
    edited August 2010
    cnh wrote: »
    I really don't believe that hearing levels change that much unless you have a real problem. What does go, of course, are the high frequencies..first those just under 20kHz then you drop to around 15 Khz and I suppose that continues as you age...I'm at about 14Khz+ at this point and I'm not even that near retirement age. It suxx. My daughter who is 12 was hearing high pitched sounds in Japanese automatic door mechanisms that neither my wife nor I could hear. Not only did she hear them, they bothered her?

    So I think you're probably OK and as said above.

    1. Volumes vary with source materials.

    2. The Ear becomes accustomed to loud volumes very quickly and then what seemed LOUD is not longer loud enough. This can lead to hearing loss if one is not careful and one likes to blast tunes.

    cnh

    yep..i agree..i dont hear much over 10k..but its hereditary(sp) has gotten worse as i get older..what i would give to hear like some of yall:D
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