Finding an old Friend

smglbrth

Boy, I have to tell you guys something. I have a decent 2 channel rig but recently I've gotten the itch to get a bigger B&K amp, the 220-225 WPC version. Of course new is out the window for me but I've been looking lately at the used market. Almost bought one yesterday off Agon but declined because it wouldn't fit in my cabinet (read "rackmount face plate"). So, since my wife and kids are gone tonite I decided to sit back and enjoy the music, LOUD MUSIC. My wife enjoys great sound but not volume, WHICH I STILL ENJOY FROM TIME TO TIME!!

It's been WAYYYY to long since I've done this, man, way too long... Anyway had Dream Theaters Awake CD on and after adjusting everything for the volume (ya, it's been so long I couldn't remember) I sat back, closed my eyes and FELT everything. Not distortion, mind you, but clear music that "thumped" the walls, floor, doors etc... OOOOH ya... It's been too long since I've heard that.

Too make this story shorter I've regained much respect for the rig I have and don't feel the need to buy a bigger amp. Have you ever heard of someone hearing something "audio-wise" and the sound is almost more than your body and senses can process? That's what I felt a couple of times tonight. When I was younger all I cared about was LOUD but now I like great sound with loudness at times. Tonite was one of those VERY FEW nights.

I've found my old friend again.

BaggedLancer

Your old friend is who? The volume knob?

There are alot of people on this forum that have a thing for big knobs....

obieone

CONGRATULATIONS Polk Mater!

dorokusai

Atta boy.

tonyb

Nothin' wrong with that.Some music,you just have to play loud.Enjoy.

capecodder

I hear your message. Baba O'Riley (as one of many examples) just doesn't cut it at "sensible" proper listening volumes. Crank the mf and let it rip. Some people just don't fully understand. Others do....

danger boy

music and your system really opens up at certain volumes.. and I enjoy that. otherwise it's not that involving to me.

reeltrouble1

great now go buy a man amp.

RT1

skipf

I'm a loud freak too, but it ain't loud until the meters on my 9t's hit 400 amps. "The Wall" demands that much power. I also can't indulge unless the wife is out of the house. What is it with these gals?

cfrizz

Simple, several years from now she will have her hearing & you will be deaf goin, Huh? What, I can't hear you. At which point she'll slap you & tell you to go get some hearing aids!:eek::p:D

skipf wrote: »

I'm a loud freak too, but it ain't loud until the meters on my 9t's hit 400 amps. "The Wall" demands that much power. I also can't indulge unless the wife is out of the house. What is it with these gals?

BottomFeeder

Yeah, I'm definitely a volume guy, too. Not ear splitting, but the music just seems to open up and come alive and, therefore, grab me, when it's louder. At higher volumes (read, when everyone else is out of the house!), I just hear everything w/more clarity and thus enjoy it more.

I LOVE putting in a well recorded cd, sitting back with the lights out & just reveling in the music. Just caint beat it!

reeltrouble1

huh?? what did you say Cat?

RT1

bikezappa

I'm 59 and in my youth I loved to as Frank Zappa said " turn all the knobs all the way to the right". I find I like a wild dynamic range music now and seek that out in my music.

The problem for me now is that if it is loud with little dynamic range my old ears start to lose interest. I can do maybe one sound loud and that is it. Music with a wide dynamic range can be played very loud and you still give your ears a rest.

One time when I was in my youth I was playing Janis Joplin's "Ball and Chain" really as loud as possible while my mother was not home. She suddenly opened the door to my room having gotten home early and had a **** fit big time. She said she could hear that %#@&&^#@ music while on the bus coming home and was so upset. Our house was on a bus stop by the way.

But I felt really good that my system could play music that loud that my mother could hear it while still in the bus.

System back then was AR amp, turntable and speakers 2ax.

smglbrth

Glad some of you understand! I can't play everything louder either, my ears don't like the sound of some of my older stuff that USED to sound good before I went into higher end gear. Some of that music actually sounds like it was recorded in a garage now.

I compare this to many word pictures for people. Like having a Honda Goldwing/Harley Electra Glide Classic and just driving it to work 5 miles away, everyday. Wouldn't it be nice to take to the road for while (like a week or two) and stretch those wheels? Or like having a Porsche in the driveway that is capable of a G-force that would sit you back in the seat so hard all you could do was sit there. Wouldn't it be nice to take it to the track a couple times a year and really stretch those wheels?

My only bottom line is we all (pretty much anyway) like to do different things. Sometimes those things are risky. Motorcycles have to worry about everybody and even a Porsche can have an accidental blow-out. And please don't give me the "I don't do that stuff" speech. I very well know I could die tomorrow going to work, whether walking or driving. I also know that listening to loud music occasionally is not good for my hearing but it does wonders for keeping me sane...;)

smglbrth

By the way, it's nice to come here and espress myself on audio and such since my other half doesn't really appreciate it the same way I do. I hear, yes, I still do hear enough comments on the loud music. She admits she doesn't understand and probably never will but that's ok, we are different persons. I really like the fact that I can come here and express my nature on such a topic and know that someone else really understands what I'm saying.

Yashu

I understand completely.

From time to time I will crank the volume. This one band, Souvenir's Young America, I don't know what it is, them or Russian Circles... anything with rock instrumentation like that deserves a little SPL.

The problem is, at 2am, when I am usually listening, it is not the time to be going to 11. At least... that is what she says. The bass rumbling rap music from two apartments down tells me I have competition, that's all. I only crank her up every so often, I like my ears, but yeah, some music just warrants it.

You know... there are some things you can do, tweaks, that make lower volume listening seem like a more full range sound, but sometimes you get into the groove and can't help yourself, right?

smglbrth

Exactly...

Didn't mean to come off seeming strong but the older I get the less I like to mince words. Better sound at low volume? Yes, a "man amp" would do the trick.

fossy

Ted Nugent just does not sound right at low volumes :o

I don't have much of a system so I enjoy at "moderate" levels :rolleyes:

jayman_1975

smglbrth wrote: »

Have you ever heard of someone hearing something "audio-wise" and the sound is almost more than your body and senses can process? That's what I felt a couple of times tonight.

I know excactly what you are talking about here. The odd time when the planets are aligned just right and my system is at it's max mojo i've had experiences like this. To me it's like those "pop rocks" when you put the whole bag in you mouth at once. I even sometimes feel like i'm getting dizzy from the way the music makes me feel. It can be a very hypnotic experience at times.

read-alot

fossy wrote: »

Ted Nugent just does not sound right at low volumes :o

I don't have much of a system so I enjoy at "moderate" levels :rolleyes:

Neither does ZZ Top

I play loud

cfrizz

SLAP! Go get some hearing aides Pops! And...TURN IT DOWN!:p;):D:D

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

huh?? what did you say Cat?

RT1