Reminded me of these guys:
1 Like
Thanks for the links!
What did you say?! I can’t hear you! 
2 Likes
Ha! I’ve only read one of the Hitchhikers books - I think I should find some more!
Ever heard of the Worst Band In The Universe?
It was quite some time ago I heard it but it’s actually a childrens book by Graeme Base… complete with soundtrack! Kinda tries to be really weird but doesn’t quite manage. Good try though 
I’ve found that it varies a lot from venue to venue, and also on the acoustics of the venue.
There used to be a venue in my area that was run by someone I consider to have been one of the best sound men in the area. He knew that louder was not necessarily better, and also the venue had acoustic panels on the ceiling/etc. so that it wouldn’t echo so much. As a result you had a loud (but not unbearably so) experience in the main room, and could easily retreat to two other rooms where you could hear the music easily but also carry a conversation with someone next to you. The only time I’ve had a show where it sounded horrible at that venue was one where the band overrode the venue owner’s decisions on what the volume would be - so damn loud that the speakers were distorting and you could literally see the lights dim when a bass beat hit.
Many other venues have no acoustic paneling and it leads to a vastly inferior experience - just people talking with each other at the tables can become deafening, and the band must play louder to overcome it.
1 Like
No, it’s not just you. I have been to several concerts that were much too loud, at least a couple of which made me wish I had brought ear protection.
@martbetz - I also have permanent hearing damage and tinnitus. My ENT thought hearing aids could possibly help, so she sent me to an audiologist. The audiologist tried to help and let me try a set of the ones she thought were most likely to help. They made no difference at all. She didn’t even charge me for her time.
1 Like
We have long-standing season tickets to our local orchestra’s Pops series, seats too good to give up 
. When it’s just the orchestra the sound is fine all over the venue, but when they host visiting artists there’s almost always some imbalance.
I was in the Key Club in high school, junior arm of the Kiwanis. We had the usher/consession contract with the local auditorium, so I heard a LOT of bands (70’s bands, that is…) I particularly recall Poco, a full half of the stage was occupied by two ginormous banks of speakers. Someone came out early to tune and mike-check a guitar; he plugged it in and strummed a chord - the 20 or so folk who’d arrived early leaned back in unison at the belt of volume…
My hearing loss is due to three things: 1) ushering those concerts, 2) jet engines (the USAF T-37 trainer was known as the Converter, converted JP-4 fuel to noise 
) and 3) more recently, steam locomotive whistles.
Oh, and we recently attended a James Taylor concert, and the volume was far beyond the genre. I think they did that because they’re playing these large spaces to accommodate a lot of people, but it detracted from the intimacy of his songs.
I’ve recently heard Steely Dan twice, and for the reasons discussed here neither performance compared to an evening sitting in a night club listening to Citizen Dan, a Denver tribute band. They’re quite good, and very satisfying hearing the same music directly from the instruments rather than pumped through an auditorium-scaled sound system…
3 Likes
I can’t attribute my tinnitus to loud concerts, at least not a large quantity of them. While I like concerts, I also like non-mainstream music. So, living in a musically out-of-the-way place, bands I like almost never go there. Plus, as time goes on they’re all getting more retired (or dead).
I don’t notice my tinnitus all the time but when I do, it’s a metallic hiss with a slight ‘surface texture’ that occasionally sounds like it’s a dry / wet stereo chorus mix. I.e., it slightly shimmers at times. If I clench my teeth, the sound changes. I can only attribute that to some kind of muscle vibration / quiver while it’s stressed.
I’m not an old-fart-music-is-too-loud yet (at least not the “music-is-too-loud” part). I agree with the liner notes in “Rides Again” (James Gang): “Made loud to be played loud”. Even better is the note on the title track from the excellent album “Please Don’t Touch” by Steve Hackett (1978): “For maximum effect, this track should be listened to as loudly as possible, with as much treble and bass as your system can muster- not to be played to people with heart conditions or those in severely hallucinogenic states of mind”. 
But there’s a limit to how loud is good.
Fortunately, even when it’s really noticeable, I don’t always notice my tinnitus if that makes sense. And when I do, it doesn’t drive me crazy.
Yet…
3 Likes
Yep. Tinitus is weird. I don’t really notice mine that much, now — it’s still there, but I’ve just got used to it. Clenching my teath does nothing in my case, but if I stick a finger in my ear and wiggle it around, it completely goes for about two minutes — but it always comes back. At one time, I was hoping it was just down to some obstruction like impacted ear wax, but no such luck.
I’ve also noticed that I’m completely deaf to higher frequencies. We were at work one day, and one of the ceiling fans broke. Apparently it was driving EVERYONE crazy (even the oldest guys there — and it’s well known that one’s ability to hear higher notes deminishes with age) with an apparent high-pitched whine. Everyone, that is, except me - I continued to happily work right under it - couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
P.S. I’ll try to spell “tinnitus” correctly from now on. 
4 Likes
After my hearing test about 10 years ago, the tech says, “you’re missing hearing at frequencies where women speak.” “Can I get that in writing? Laminated for my wallet?” I asked…
Got home with that disclosure, wife was having none of it, made my appointment for me at the audiologist for hearing aids.
3 Likes
Since you apparently spent time with aircraft - was that dip at 400 Hz by any chance?
Most people have a dip at either 50 or 60 Hz, whichever is their local AC line frequency.
When a coworker’s audiologist commented on an odd (to them) dip at 400 Hz, not a single one of us at work were surprised when he told us the story.
1 Like
Hmmm, that would be an interesting correlation. Not sure where my audiology report is, will have to dig it up.
My wife has a tendency to start sentences softly, get louder in the middle and then end softly. Then she waits about five minutes and speaks again. Heaven forbid I depart during that waiting period… I just ask her to repeat if necessary (which in her mind is translated, “yell”… despite my intention). But the issues are two-way, so my day will come. It’ll probably be my last day, but it’ll come!
5 Likes
That’s interesting - do you know why?
I had no idea there could such be pronounced hearing loss in sub bass frequencies since we are already less sensitive to it and feel it more than we hear. Interesting to know Time to avoid AC noise
EDIT: Ah, AC as in Alternating Current line? I thought you meant Air Conditioning 
3 Likes
I remember that at some point in the 2000s, it became a minor media meme here in Europe that Elton John ostensibly has the loudest concerts of all bands or artists. (That media meme is most likely based on an article published in a Swedish medical journal in 2000, mentioned in Der Spiegel here.)
Even though it’s very probably not true that Elton John has the loudest live concerts, it’s still a remarkable juxtaposition, and one that rings true enough (why it worked as a media meme): Elton John may not have the loudest concerts, but they are definitely much too loud especially given the style of his music (which I personally quite like). A lot of it is very danceable and may be played loudly, but the thought of getting permanent ear damage from a rendition of Candle in the Wind is amusingly absurd 
Unfortunately, whether the meme is true or not, it accurately reflects the global state of pop music over the last several decades (loudness war etc). Which is why I barely listen to any music at all anymore, it just distracts me from constructing a perfect world in my head, to paraphrase the American poet Doug Stanhope.
2 Likes
Just in case this is unknown by some people there’s a really good website/forum that has quite a few scientific explainers on audio, BS exploders, as well as objective, measurement-based reviews of equipment and active forums. The guy who runs it also does occasional YouTube explainers. He’s an anti-influencer, tho
4 Likes
As an amusing side note, I once saw a popular TV program that tested out the hypothesis that playing low harmonics would result in the loss of bowel control.
Also, there’s a theory (that some say is backed up by evidence/proof) that very low frequencies can invoke a feeling of fear and dread along with possible visual disturbances — some have used this theory to explain the uneasy feelings some may attribute to supernatural experiences.
All I can say is, I’ve certainly attended my fair share of rediculously loud rock concerts, but I haven’t had my bowels explode or seen any ghosts as of yet — well… apart from these guys, that is:
2 Likes
Amir has good technical reviews, specially when it comes to amps, dacs, the whole deal, but everything else, like headphones, I would take with a grain of salt.
There are multiple posts in the web explaining why.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/moapci/audio_the_rise_and_fall_of_rheadphones_favorite/
I know this is reddit but it’s quite succinct and explains the problem pretty well.
- Here is ASR’s review of the Focal Clear. Amir is notorious for his high listening volumes (so much so that many have questioned the integrity of his hearing). In this instance, he pushes the headphone to 115dB to make the headphone clip. While yes, the Clear will distort at this volume, realistically, this is not a volume anyone listens at. Unless, you know, you’re keen on premature hearing loss. This was waved off as being akin to “skydiving and testing limits as a reviewer” (I’m paraphrasing here).
- In a similar vein, here is ASR’s Sennheiser HD800S review. In one of the charts, 94dB is depicted as being “below normal listening level”. For reference, 94dB is loud - really loud. I personally cannot listen at this level without my ears physically hurting. Of course, this isn’t so bad if you realize the chart depicts a 1kHz sine sweep at 0dbFs. What is most alarming here, then, is the way this information might be interpreted by some readers who do not know this.
These are my favourite parts, and specially relevant to this “over amplified” discussion.
Besides that, as long as you’re aware of its limitations, it’s a great source. I bought a Behringer ADC based on his review.
2 Likes
Yes, I’ve seen the long thread of complaints on ASR about the Focal review and Amir’s high listening levels but the site is open to discussion and disagreement in the comments. I’ve also bought a few things based on the reviews, including some Revel speakers, as well as AKG headphones and Truthear IEMs that are way cheaper than so-called audiophile gear.
(Ew… just flicked through that Reddit post and more importantly the comments underneath. I don’t doubt there’s some useful points in there but, as you hinted, it’s kinda everything I dislike about internet pile ons and arbitrary truthiness by randoms. Pixls is largely a haven from that kind of stuff, thank God and the moderators)
2 Likes