What volume level do you usually listen to music at?

I specifically purchase noise cancelling headphones / earbuds now since it makes it easy to listen at MUCH quieter levels. I have done some tests with the noise cancelling disabled and setting the volume and with it on.. It really makes a huge difference as I am not cranking it up to drowned out noise on transit or walking down the street.

37

Came here say this. Absolutely agree. Being able to reduce background noise is huge.

As a side point - having a car that's quiet has really allowed me to enjoy music at a much more reasonable level when driving as well.

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I bought some Sony XM4s because I'd heard this theory before but I found noise cancelling barely makes a difference.

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- Which Sony XM4s are you talking about? Sony is terrible at naming their products, the WH-1000XM4 are noise cancelling overear headphones, while the WF-1000XM4 are in ear ones. If you're talking about the earbuds, try different tips.
  
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11, obviously!

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It's 1 ~~better than 10~~ louder, innit?

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- Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
  
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- Actually it's a logarithmic scale.
  
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WHAT? SORRY I CANT HEAR ANYMORE

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I try to target under 70db to protect my ears. Some earbuds and DAC's can show you a db estimate

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How can they estimate it with a standalone DAC? I can understand that it can be calibrated when using a wireless headphone/earbuds (although it probably would be different depending on what the shape of the ear is, and what tips/pads you're using), but for a standalone DAC it sounds really strange since different headphones have different efficiency and it would be impossible for the amp to know what it would be, right? I have very efficient IEMs that get very loud even on very low volume when plugged to an ordinary USB-C DAC (one click above zero is a bit too quiet, another click is too loud), but on some larger overear headphones I have, even the max volume on the same DAC will be pretty underwhelming.

Even if the amp can detect the impedance of the headphones, it won't know the energy conversion efficiency... right?

I'm guessing the dB is not absolute volume, but relative dB (to measure amplification), so if you plug the same headphones into different amps, and give them the same source and the same dB setting, you probably will have different listening volume at the end.

I'm just a layman, so I might be missing something crucial.

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- As someone else said, I'm referring to the Qudelix where you can input the Impedance and Sensitivity manually
  
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- I believe you’re correct. DACs obviously can’t determine volume at all, but amps can try to use the impedance to create an estimate.
  
  This probably isn’t accurate though. If you really want a good estimate, you would have to calculate it with current voltage output and the specs of the headphones/IEMs in question.
  
  I’m just a hobbyist too, but my headphones are extremely inefficient so I’ve spent some time looking into this. Too bad we don’t have oratory here
  
  2
Awesome, not sure i've ever seen that on any device

1

depends.

In the middle of angry-programming? The linkin park will be turned up to 80%. I want to make sure Chester's screams wakes the dead.

Business as usual? around 20%. Enough to drown out external noises.

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Sound engineer here. Please protect your ears people, there’s no way to reverse hearing damage.

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30-40%, but depending on what I'm listening to, I may temporarily crank it up. I think this question kinda depends on sound hardware, though.

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11

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As quietly as possible, you don't notice hearing damage until it's too late to do anything about it.

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10-15% on earphones. However, that doesn't really mean anything. Different sound card and headphone combination will produce different loudness at same levels.

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I'm just going to take this moment to remind everyone not to destroy their hearing. Back in highschool I used to blast my ears with headphones at maximum volume and go to loud venues without hearing protection. I've been permanently listening to EEEEEEEEEEEEE ever since. That was 25 years ago. It never goes away folks. Stay safe!

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I use the headphone safety feature of my phone to limit it to 80dB. Anything higher and you’re risking permanent hearing loss.

Guide.

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20% typically. I prefer to be able to hear my surroundings clearly still

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I listen at a low volume. I'm usually doing something else as well, so loud music is too distracting and irritating. I'm old, and I can still hear very well except for spousal deafness.

I love that the font size on this post is twice as big as all the others.

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multiples of 5

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A 5 is the only exception to it being an even number

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Some very arbitrary answers up in here

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I mean it's sorta inherent. The overwhelming majority of audio systems used by normal people just have some form of relative volume display as opposed to an objective one.

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Here’s a handy guide if it helps.

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- I mostly meant the people saying a percentage.. Naturally I assume they mean relative to the loudness of the krakatoa eruption
  
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4

WHAT?

Jokes aside, just over 50% system volume in general with apps and headphones maxed out. My hearing is so/so. I wish it were below 50 but it's just too quiet like that

3

I primarily listen to music in my car and it’s usually as loud as I can stand.

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20-40% when I'm at home and there are no noises that interrupt the sound. 50-75% when I'm outside and can't hear anything on lower levels. I try to keep this stuff as quiet as possible so as not to damage my hearing

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17 in the car

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For sure. I usually go with ||||||__

5

Depends. My IEMs have higher impedance than your usual pair of headphones, and then it also depends on what I'm listening to from my self-ripped .flac library. Right now I am listening to Savage Amusement by Scorpions and I can listen to it enjoyably at 65 out of 120 on my Walkman. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is a tad bit quieter so on that album I have 75. Usually it's around this volume range, but sometimes if it's a raw grimey death metal album I have to go even higher.

tl;dr:

It mostly depends on how loud or quiet the album I'm listening to is.

3

With headphones and speakers it is always as quietly as possible since I already have ear damage, I don't want more.

3

on speakers? reasonable minus a notch or two

on headphones? cranked

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I'm exactly the opposite. I've got fancy ass speakers for a reason, I'm gonna use them.

^(yes, I've checked with the neighbours)

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For short car journeys or if I'm sharing, quietish background level

If I'm motorwaying it alone, fairly (but not stupidly) loud

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i usually keep it 2-4 clicks away from the limit that phones have. depends on how loud or quiet the album im listening to is. i used to have it all the way to the limit but that was when i worked at a much more noisy job

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60%

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WHAT?

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Very quiet, I hate anything that's loud.

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Full on speakers, around 50% to 80% on IEMs/headphones; depends on the max volume I can do without getting tinnitus.

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I use Reduce Loud Sounds on the iPhone with my AirPods Pro to reduce the maximum volume to 80dB so that I don’t damage my hearing. That way, I can crank the volume buttons to maximum without having to think about it, knowing that it will be safe.

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20-25% of volume for mobile devices (android), and 15-20% on my laptop (MacBook)

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Usually between 32%~65%

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Full. All the way.

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19 or 20

22 if I'm really fucking jammin'

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Loud enough that people outside the car can't hear me sing along.

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About 4.

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Usually between 75 - 85 dB

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