How loud?

[sostl 1]

Im just tryin to see how loud decibels are from 120, 130,140, and 150.

I think a while ago someone told me that 130db's was like gettin hit in the chest and its very hard to breathe at 150. Is this true?

Can someone give me examples of each range of decibels.

[///M5 2,833]

* Near total silence - 0 dB

* A whisper - 15 dB

* Normal conversation - 60 dB

* A lawnmower - 90 dB

* A car horn - 110 dB

* A rock concert or a jet engine - 120 dB

* A gunshot - 140 dB

[///M5 2,833]

Hearing loss can happen with exposure to just 80db. Do realize that dB's are logarithmic.

[JazzScreamer 1]

I had this handy.

Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart

Environmental Noise

weakest sound heard 0 dB

normal conversation at 3-5 ft 60-70 dB

dial tone of telephone 80 dB

city traffic inside car 85 dB

1983 OSHA monitoring requirements begin 90 dB

train whistle at 500 ft. 90 dB

subway train at 200 ft. 95 dB

regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage 90-95 dB

power mower 107 dB

power saw 110 dB

Pain begins 125 dB

pneumatic riveter at 4 ft. 125 dB

jet engine at 100 ft. 140 dB

loudest sound that can occur 194 dB

Musical Noise

normal piano practice 60-70 dB

fortissimo singer 3 ft. away 70 dB

chamber music in small auditorium 75-85 dB

regular sustained exposure may cause permanent damage 90-95 dB

piano fortissimo 92-95 dB

violin 84-103 dB

cello 82-92 dB

oboe 90-94 dB

flute 85-111 dB

piccolo 95-112 dB

clarinet 92-103 dB

french horn 90-106 dB

trombone 85-114 dB

timpani & bass drum rolls 106 dB

average Walkman on 5/10 setting 94 dB

symphonic music peak 120-137 dB

amplified rock music at 4-6 ft. 120 dB

rock music peak 150 dB

NOTES:

The brass section playing fortissimo can drown out practically the whole orchestra.

One-third of the total power of a 75-piece orchestra comes from the bass drum.

High frequency sounds of 2-4,000 Hz are the most damaging. The uppermost octave of the piccolo is 2,048-4,096 Hz.

Aging causes gradual hearing loss, mostly in the high frequencies.

Speech reception is not seriously impaired until there is about 30 dB loss; by that time severe damage may have occured.

Hypertension and various psychological difficulties can be related to noise exposure.

The incidence of hearing loss in classical musicians has been estimated at 4-43%, in rock musicians 13-30%.

[sostl 1]

thanks for the replies...

but that was a lil deeper than i was expectin.

Really i think a better question would have been how does it feel?

like at what dbs does it take to make it hard to hear the person sittin next to you n the car? Hard to breathe?

[JimJ 11]

Remember, those are in dBA, not a single frequency reading like you're going to get from a sensor like a Termlab.

150dBA is a lot different than 150dB @ 50Hz.

[zpeedyrosalez 0]

cool

[sostl 1]

ttt

[JimJ 11]

There's really no clear answer to your question...it'll depend on the frequency, vehicle used, setup of the vehicle, etc...

[mrray13 30]

Remember, those are in dBA, not a single frequency reading like you're going to get from a sensor like a Termlab.

150dBA is a lot different than 150dB @ 50Hz.

care to explain the difference?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[vladd 26]

a really cool thing to do is to play a slow sine sweep while talking to someone in the vehicle. Dave and i did this and at a moderate level the sound would completely drown out what he was saying. same with my voice. I'd say his two 10s were around 130-135db but that's completely guessing.

with lower frequencies it's all about frequency. When i'm screwing around with 18hz (not even in an spl system, just my 15" Q sealed with about 1300W) i can feel a pressure that is not nice in my head. with a sine wave around 45hz it's not really all that bad until you get to a much higher level. the stratus's 143@48hz was loud but didn't really bother you at all.

[JimJ 11]

Weighted readings are over the whole audio bandwidth, varying in how different octaves may be attenuated...an A-weighted measurement is going to have a lot more higher frequency (and therefore damaging) info than a single 50Hz tone.

[mrray13 30]

Weighted readings are over the whole audio bandwidth, varying in how different octaves may be attenuated...an A-weighted measurement is going to have a lot more higher frequency (and therefore damaging) info than a single 50Hz tone.

ok. so what's the difference in A and C weighting? and exactly what does it mean to have an A weighted measurement? is it in the fact the A rating is for higher freq compared to a C rated one being for lower octaves? or am i way wrong?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[platnum accord 0]

194 is the loudest sound possible... whoa.

[JimJ 11]

Weighted readings are over the whole audio bandwidth, varying in how different octaves may be attenuated...an A-weighted measurement is going to have a lot more higher frequency (and therefore damaging) info than a single 50Hz tone.

ok. so what's the difference in A and C weighting? and exactly what does it mean to have an A weighted measurement? is it in the fact the A rating is for higher freq compared to a C rated one being for lower octaves? or am i way wrong?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Google would help you with that. I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.

[///M5 2,833]

Both are just different acoustic weighting curves. They are both made to be simple to calculate and not really for the most accuracy, but the basic idea is that your ear is not a linear device and is more sensitive to some frequencies than others. A weighting is a method of re-flattening your ears response curve to model how you would perceive the sound. C weighting is similar but also compensated for higher volumes. Both are very simple linear additions/subtractions of dB at each 1/3 octave bin frequency.

[galacticmonkey 0]

Heres my views on it. Lets just say a note in between 35-45hz is used for all.

120dB - You can feel a little bass, mostly just blends into the music and sounds very smooth.

130dB - A pretty average system. A couple low end 10s or 12s with a couple hundred watts.

140dB - Some people can start to feel the pressure in their ears, and most people not into systems say its pretty loud.

145dB - Starts to get pretty loud. You can feel the bass throughout your body. Pressure starts to build. Pretty loud street system.

150dB - If you got virgin ears, you will probably chit your pants when the line drops.

155dB - Breathing becomes difficult inside the vehicle, your ears really hurt, and even outside the car you can feel pressure on your chest.

158dB - Insanely loud. Your ears hurt like you wouldnt imagine, your vision is blurred to the point where its hard to see, and you really have to concentrate on breathing.

160dB - Rediculous. Breathing is pretty much impossible, and just the flat out pressue feels like your body is being crushed.

Could go higher, but ~160dB is loudest Ive ever heard on music.

[the727kid 1]

^^ All depends on your set up on the pressure wise. My boys 12" BTL wasn't super loud but you could the pressure out side of his car pretty good. (no 29hz tuning)

[sostl 1]

Heres my views on it. Lets just say a note in between 35-45hz is used for all.

120dB - You can feel a little bass, mostly just blends into the music and sounds very smooth.

130dB - A pretty average system. A couple low end 10s or 12s with a couple hundred watts.

140dB - Some people can start to feel the pressure in their ears, and most people not into systems say its pretty loud.

145dB - Starts to get pretty loud. You can feel the bass throughout your body. Pressure starts to build. Pretty loud street system.

150dB - If you got virgin ears, you will probably chit your pants when the line drops.

155dB - Breathing becomes difficult inside the vehicle, your ears really hurt, and even outside the car you can feel pressure on your chest.

158dB - Insanely loud. Your ears hurt like you wouldnt imagine, your vision is blurred to the point where its hard to see, and you really have to concentrate on breathing.

160dB - Rediculous. Breathing is pretty much impossible, and just the flat out pressue feels like your body is being crushed.

Could go higher, but ~160dB is loudest Ive ever heard on music.

thats what i was lookin 4, thanks

[JimJ 11]

130dB - A pretty average system. A couple low end 10s or 12s with a couple hundred watts.

I know of a few very non-average setups that won't come close to this number

[///M5 2,833]

If it were front stage, 130dB would be average.

If by average you mean excruciatingly loud and nearly unbearable.