Increasing loudness at concert performances is not caused by listeners’ preferences, but by the opinions of sound engineers and/or producers. The average sound level at public concerts ranges up to 100–105 decibels. Loudness preferences have been examined for listening with earphones but not in the open air. This e-brief describes research on preferred sound quality dimensions at Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn with live music samples. The experiments revealed that preferred loudness don’t differ across age groups or between women and men. The preferred loudness were found 85–87 dB. Fidelity was the most important sound quality parameter influencing to overall pleasantness. No correlation were found between loudness and overall pleasantness.
https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=17618
Click to purchase paper as a non-member or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $33 for non-members and is free for AES members and E-Library subscribers.
Learn more about the AES E-Library
The Engineering Briefs at this Convention were selected on the basis of a submitted synopsis, ensuring that they are of interest to AES members, and are not overly commercial. These briefs have been reproduced from the authors' advance manuscripts, without editing, corrections, or consideration by the Review Board. The AES takes no responsibility for their contents. Paper copies are not available, but any member can freely access these briefs. Members are encouraged to provide comments that enhance their usefulness.
Start a discussion about this paper!
