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The Hidden Dangers of High Volume
Protecting Your Hearing While Enjoying High-Fidelity and Standard Audio Systems
by Juan Leon
In a world where music and sound are integral to our daily lives, the quality of audio systems we use has dramatically improved. High-fidelity (Hi-Fi) systems offer a listening experience that closely replicates live performances, while standard audio systems have become increasingly accessible and affordable. However, as we immerse ourselves in the rich soundscapes these technologies provide, it's crucial to be aware of the potential risks associated with listening to audio at excessively high volumes.
The Allure of High Volume
The temptation to crank up the volume is understandable. High volumes can enhance the experience, making music more immersive and movies more thrilling. With Hi-Fi systems, the clarity and detail at high volumes can be particularly captivating. However, this enjoyment comes at a cost. Listening to sound at high levels, whether through Hi-Fi or standard audio systems, can cause irreversible damage to your hearing.
Understanding Hearing Damage
Hearing damage occurs when the delicate hair cells in the inner ear, responsible for transmitting sound signals to the brain, are exposed to excessive noise. This damage can be temporary or permanent, depending on the intensity and duration of exposure. Unfortunately, once these hair cells are damaged, they do not regenerate, leading to permanent hearing loss.
Safe Listening Levels
According to audiologists, listening to sounds at or above 85 decibels (dB) for extended periods can cause hearing damage. For context, normal conversation is about 60 dB, city traffic is around 85 dB, and a rock concert can exceed 110 dB. High-fidelity systems, known for their powerful output and clarity, can easily surpass safe listening levels if not used responsibly.
The Negative Impact on Life
Hearing loss can have profound effects on various aspects of life:
Communication Difficulties: Hearing loss can make conversations challenging, leading to misunderstandings and frustration in social and professional settings.
Social Isolation: Difficulty in hearing can cause individuals to withdraw from social activities, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Mental Health Issues: There is a strong correlation between hearing loss and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Cognitive Decline: Studies have shown that untreated hearing loss can contribute to cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia.
Protecting Your Hearing
To enjoy your Hi-Fi and standard audio systems without compromising your hearing, consider the following tips:
Monitor Volume Levels: Keep the volume at a safe level. If you need to raise your voice to speak to someone nearby, the volume is too high.
Use Volume-Limiting Features: Many modern audio devices come with volume-limiting features. Utilize these to prevent the volume from exceeding safe levels.
Take Listening Breaks: Give your ears a rest by taking regular breaks from continuous listening, especially at higher volumes.
Invest in Quality Headphones: Noise-canceling headphones can help you enjoy clear sound at lower volumes by blocking out background noise.
Regular Hearing Checks: Schedule regular hearing check-ups with an audiologist to monitor your hearing health and catch any early signs of damage.
Conclusion
High-fidelity and standard audio systems can greatly enhance our listening experiences, but it's essential to use them responsibly. By being mindful of volume levels and taking proactive steps to protect your hearing, you can enjoy your favorite music and media without risking your long-term hearing health. Remember, once hearing is lost, it cannot be restored. Protect your ears today to ensure a lifetime of enjoying the sounds you love.
Best Loudspeaker Placements in a Stereo listening Configuration
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by Juan Leon
Achieving the optimal speaker placements in your listening room can greatly enhance your stereo system with just a few hours of your time. Wondering how? Read on.
We'll start with an ideal configuration and then guide you to find the closest approach possible within your specific environment.
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Placement in the room: To maximise the delay of back wall reflections and minimize excessive bass, position the loudspeakers well into the room. Excessive bass can create unnatural booming sounds. By placing the speakers away from the back wall, the bass becomes better defined, and the soundstage gains depth. Start with a suggested distance of at least 70 cm.
Tip: Consider adding a subwoofer to gain control over the bass and achieve a balanced blend with the frequencies from the speakers. This is especially recommended when using bookshelf speakers, as they tend to have limited low frequencies.
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Listening position: Sit at a distance from the speakers that is approximately equal to or slightly greater than the distance between them. Aim for an equilateral or isosceles triangle configuration, and toe-in the loudspeakers towards the listener's ears. Ideally, the listener's ears should be at the tweeter's height.
Tip: It's crucial to sit exactly between the two speakers. In this position, you can experience the soundstage, a clear vocal image centered between the speakers, and the precise placement of instruments on the stage.
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Listening distance: The closer you sit to the speakers, the less you will be exposed to room-dependent sound reproduction.
Audio Physic speakers recommend maintaining a distance of up to 1.7 meters from the loudspeakers. This allows the sound fields from the drivers to combine correctly and reduces unwanted reflections reaching the listener. This guideline applies to any brand, unless the manufacturer advises otherwise.
Please refer to the technical explanation provided by Audio Physic loudspeaker manufacturer below for further details on the suggested distance.
Acoustical Perceptions Explained: The brain primarily detects spatial information related to a sound source within the first five milliseconds. Anything that follows is initially ignored. Sound travels approximately 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) in five milliseconds. If the sound of a reflection travels 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) further than the direct sound from the source, it will have no influence on our spatial perception. Therefore, any room reflection arriving more than five milliseconds later will be ignored.
This intelligent approach to acoustic perception is why our ancestors were able to run away from a sabre-tooth tiger in the middle of a forest with numerous reflections bouncing off trees.
Note: As a parallel thought, consider placing absorbent acoustic panels closer to the speakers when listening in near-field, as mentioned above.
By locating absorbent panels very close or touching the outer sides of each left and right speaker, they will absorb early high frequencies that would otherwise be reflected off the side walls. This technique enhances detail and clarity of sound directed towards the listener. This experimental approach has resulted in an improved central image and a sweeter overall sound.
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3 Panels pack $769 The third panel to sit it horizontally between the speakers
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We highly recommend considering a home theatre and/or hi-fi specialist with extensive experience in the industry to design and recommend a system that will outperform easy-fit-all solutions. Please call us on 0402 652 665 if you require this service. Hi-Fi Doctor has in house THX Certified Professional and CEDIA Professional Certification on staff
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Surround Sound Reproduced at Home as Cinema Experience
Had you ever teared up watching a very emotional film?
by Juan Leon
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The cinema experience is virtual reality in action, recreating natural events happening around you by tricking your senses using several sonic and visual effects that will drag you into the middle of the action where you can live the experience.
Creating immersive multidimensional sound effects requires multiple sources of sound (channels) and technologies such as Dolby or DTS that will allow the professional audio mixers and designers to combine and accurately match audio to the visuals on screen.
Dolby Atmos offers true 3D sound using two new concepts in cinema sound: audio objects and overhead speakers. They have captured the enthusiasm and excitement of consumers, the film industry, manufactures of home theatres and professional cinemas.
In a home setting you may have speakers fixed in different surround configurations. For example, 7.1.4 three at the front (Left-Centre-Right), two lateral surround, two rear surround, one subwoofer and four overhead (in-ceiling) speakers.
Dolby Atmos software is able to locate ‘objects’ (sources of sound) of up to 128 distinct sound objects which can be routed up to 64 different speakers within the three-dimensional space of a professional cinema. Therefore, you would feel as though the action is happening all around you.
At home Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 create a two-dimensional circle of surround in same plane. Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 (or 7.1.2), creates a 3D effect by adding overhead speakers (extra 2 or 4).
Aside from all the above technical jargon, it would be interesting to explore how this sonic virtual reality, paired with images and the related film’s story would affect our emotions.
We know that what we’re watching is fiction, but I bet that at some moment you had teared up watching a very emotional film or ever had trouble sleeping after watching a scary movie.
For us human beings, it is natural to first believe rather than be sceptical, otherwise society wouldn’t function. We accept and believe that other motorists will follow the traffic rules, otherwise we wouldn’t step into our cars. Almost one in five Australians fall victim to online scams and so on because we want to believe in others.
The brain is a complex organ that researchers are still trying to decode, it may be tricked by the information obtained by our senses. In the case of emotional movies, it is stimulated to makes us feel empathy, so if you cry watching movies, it’s a good thing, you’re a good and compassionate person feeling empathy for others.
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