How loud have you pushed your speakers?

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  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited December 2013
    Eleven. I've taken my system to eleven.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
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  • smglbrth
    smglbrth Posts: 1,481
    edited December 2013
    Too loud, enough to feel like my heart was skipping beats and trying to stay with a bass drum instead of a normal beat. "Young and dumb", never again...
    Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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  • ibewbrother
    ibewbrother Posts: 186
    edited December 2013
    I can't remember what I was listening to...but I had the cheap Radio Shack meter..on slow...with c weighting..at about 126db. this was about 5 feet in front of the speakers..I have a small room. I remember the tweeters sounding harsh, but everything was pretty clear.
    According to the meters on the amps..pushing around 250+ steady to the mains, and around 200 to everything else.

    Not something I would recommend to do very often....kind of like opening your car up on the int
    "Making life enjoyable through expensive electronics." BillD

    Pioneer Elite SC-57
    M70 series 2 mains
    CS2 center
    M40 surround
    M30 front height
    SVS PB 12 NSD

    Carver TFM-45 (mains)
    Carver A753x (center, surround)

    320GB PS3, 42" Panasonic G10,

    M60's as a Zone 2 off of the Pioneer in the living room

    R.I.P. Onkyo TX-NR807
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited December 2013
    Something is wrong with your meter. That dB level is not possible with the gear you have listed.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Inspector 24
    Inspector 24 Posts: 1,308
    edited December 2013
    From my limited experience I'd have to agree. Attended a concert last week, we were no more than 15' from the left bank of speakers, a curving stack of five and two massive bass modules and the iPhone sound meter app (Measures close to Radio Shack Meter) registered *only* 109.5db max and it was as loud or louder than any club I've been in.

    Besides that 120+db is an absolutely insane amount of sound pressure.
    Up
    LSi15 LSiC - RX-V3000

    Down
    LSiM707 - 706c - 702f/x - Dual HSU VTF-15H Mk2
    Parasound HCA-3500 - HCA-2003A - Marantz SR7005
    Sim2 D60 - Dragonfly 106" Panny 500

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  • ibewbrother
    ibewbrother Posts: 186
    edited December 2013
    I bought the meter used off e-bay...the thing might not work correctly....I don't know. I tuned my stuff using it at about 80 db...so I might not have...and from your responses....don't...have a very accurate sound. All I know is I can get hearing damage levels out of those old Carvers and my cheap Polk Monitors..everyone I have ever cranked it for said it sounded good....and I think so...too.

    I want some better speakers...and I am looking at SVS for the whole range....nothing but love for the sub....but I don't know about towers, center, or surround.....pictures look nice though
    "Making life enjoyable through expensive electronics." BillD

    Pioneer Elite SC-57
    M70 series 2 mains
    CS2 center
    M40 surround
    M30 front height
    SVS PB 12 NSD

    Carver TFM-45 (mains)
    Carver A753x (center, surround)

    320GB PS3, 42" Panasonic G10,

    M60's as a Zone 2 off of the Pioneer in the living room

    R.I.P. Onkyo TX-NR807
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    edited December 2013
    One big problem with SPL meters is that there is no way to know if it is correctly calibrated. I have a digital Radio Shack SPL meter, and the app, Decibal 10th, installed on my iPhone and iPad. They all give different values (within +/- 5db) of each other. How do I know which is correct?
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited December 2013
    That was my trick ear, what'ja say?
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • skky
    skky Posts: 26
    edited December 2013
    ibewbrother wrote: »
    I bought the meter used off e-bay...the thing might not work correctly....I don't know. I tuned my stuff using it at about 80 db...so I might not have...and from your responses....don't...have a very accurate sound. All I know is I can get hearing damage levels out of those old Carvers and my cheap Polk Monitors..everyone I have ever cranked it for said it sounded good....and I think so...too.

    I want some better speakers...and I am looking at SVS for the whole range....nothing but love for the sub....but I don't know about towers, center, or surround.....pictures look nice though

    Over at avs forum,they had a bunch of speakers go toe to toe including one of the top svs speakers.Apparently it was awesome with well define bass as if you had a subwoofer(figures LOL).But then the tone and detail itself was describe not as great as the others(I can't remember exactly what they said).

    fyi-I don't think you can call those iphone apps accurate,I only use it to get a rough idea.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,001
    edited December 2013
    BlueFox wrote: »
    One big problem with SPL meters is that there is no way to know if it is correctly calibrated. I have a digital Radio Shack SPL meter, and the app, Decibal 10th, installed on my iPhone and iPad. They all give different values (within +/- 5db) of each other. How do I know which is correct?

    I would take as a more correct reading the Rat Shack meter over an app any day....period.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    edited December 2013
    tonyb wrote: »
    I would take as a more correct reading the Rat Shack meter over an app any day....period.

    I adjusted the iPhone and iPad to be the same as the RS. However, as long as the RS meter is within a db or two, the accuracy is not that important for the home. The main thing we want is consistency, the same reading everytime. As long as it is consistent then it is useful.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
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  • devani
    devani Posts: 1,497
    edited December 2013
    never pushed AR9 above like others have....I do want to find out what it's like with four 12" subs in AR9 can do someday....
    Video: LG 55LN5100/Samsung LNT4065F
    Receiver: HK AVR445
    Source: OPPO BDP-93
    HT: POLK SPEAKERS RTi6, FXi3, CSi5, VTF-3 MK2
    2Ch system: MC2105, AR-XA, AR-2A, AR9, BX-300, OPPO BDP-83
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  • vinyladdict
    vinyladdict Posts: 32
    edited January 2014
    drumminman wrote: »
    For two channel I like listening at realistic levels. Don't have a meter so I can't measure. It's so clean and clear that it's difficult to realize how loud it is until the person sitting next to me on the couch initiates a conversation. My clever reply is typically, "what?" :lol:

    Sounds like me, I will crank it a "little" :-) if everyone is gone out of the house. I have monitor 75t's and I'm only pushing them with a 2 channel 50 watt Onkyo receiver with a 20 band ADC equalizer hung off the back end and I can't even imagine putting the volume at half on the receiver it would melt the paint off the walls. Can't imagine pushing them with 150-200 watts . But they do sound great with a little juice behind them!
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  • Phish56466
    Phish56466 Posts: 54
    edited January 2014
    Over 110dB in room(Realistic meter in the sweet spot, C-weight, fast response). One thing I've experienced when driving older Polks this hard WITHOUT PROPER POWER-customer service gets to know you pretty well. I can't count the number of pairs of RDO's I've bought in the past 2 years. I wished they'd do a return program, my next 3 pairs might be free!
    Monitor 12's-RDO's and XO's done!
    Onkyo TX-SR705 AVR
    Adcom GFA-555 for power(being reborn, as I can afford it)
    Onkyo DX-C730 changer
    Onkyo CP-1057F table W/Grado cartridge
    CS300 center
    M4's for rears
    LG 47" LCD
    ROKU streaming gizmo
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited January 2014
    Current speakers are active/passive, woofers section is 98db, mid/high is 118db, neither has seen more than 1 watt so far. :D
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,779
    edited January 2014
    11....
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,776
    edited January 2014
    The loudest I have ever experienced that was not at a concert was a set of Klipsch Chorus II - all I remember was the SPL meter bouncing between 120 something and ---

    Not an enjoyable experience
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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