How loud do you listen to music?

[Orbert]

Even when I was younger, I was never obsessed with cranking it up all the time.  Sure, sometimes you want to feel it was well as hear it.  But usually I just have it loud enough to hear all the parts, then up one notch, whatever that is.

[Algo Fonix]

Normally I listen to music as low as possible while still being able to hear everything.  When I have my headphones hooked up to my computer, I use normally less than 10% or so of the volume.

[MetalMike06]

Depends. In the car I usually have some windows down and blast it pretty damn loud. When running, walking, etc. I have it at maybe 40-50%. Enough to fill my ears but just faint enough to hear some of what's going on around me.

[Sigz]

Depends, but usually only as loud as it needs to be for me to hear it. The only time I'll crank it past that is if I feel the music requires it to be louder, like in some really awesome metal parts (2nd half of Blackwater Park for example), or most noise/drone music.

[sonatafanica]

That just reminded me, Sigz. I usually fall asleep listening to Glacial and Haze on Molotov and Haze by Bass Communion. I usually just shuffle the songs around until it's just those two quiet tracks to lull me peacefully to sleep.

Last night I forgot to turn off the "repeat" button, so I woke up to Molotov suddenly in the middle of the night to violently that I fell off of my bed.

[Rina]

Extremely loud in the car, moderate at home, and quietly when I'm sleeping/studying/etc.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

I hate to hear other sounds when I listen to music.

Same here. Even minor noises like rain or sound of fan. My earphones do the trick though.

60-70. I could go louder but I try to protect my ears.

[jsem]

I hate hearing other people's music through their headphones even when I'm like 5 metres away from them, disturbing. Those people have their music too loud and are going to end up like Beethoven.. without the epic composing ability ofc. I have my volume at the equilibrium where people can't hear it from my headphones but it's still loud enough for me to isolate myself in it.

[Orbert]

Anyone who listens to music on earphones so loud that people can hear it from even a few feet away is destroying their ears.  The first time I got a real set of earphones, I couldn't believe it.  I knew the free "earbuds" that come with an iPod were crap, but I had no idea.  How can a 1/8" speaker in each ear actually produce decent bass?  It seems to defy some law of physics or something.  I also couldn't believe how well they blocked outside sounds, like earplugs but with little speakers in them.  I've gone to sporting events with my iPod, and can listen to tunes just fine, while blocking out the crowd noise and everything else just fine.

[tri.ad]

I don't know it for sure, but I guess it's between 50 and 60 dB most of the time. Sometimes I just have to crank certain songs.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

Pretty fucking loud

[SPNKr]

I hate hearing other people's music through their headphones even when I'm like 5 metres away from them, disturbing. Those people have their music too loud and are going to end up like Beethoven.. without the epic composing ability ofc. I have my volume at the equilibrium where people can't hear it from my headphones but it's still loud enough for me to isolate myself in it.

Yep hate that too.

Anyone who listens to music on earphones so loud that people can hear it from even a few feet away is destroying their ears.  The first time I got a real set of earphones, I couldn't believe it.  I knew the free "earbuds" that come with an iPod were crap, but I had no idea.  How can a 1/8" speaker in each ear actually produce decent bass?  It seems to defy some law of physics or something.  I also couldn't believe how well they blocked outside sounds, like earplugs but with little speakers in them.  I've gone to sporting events with my iPod, and can listen to tunes just fine, while blocking out the crowd noise and everything else just fine.

They obviously think it's cool to destroy your hearing

[Orbert]

Another thing to chalk up to "young and stupid".  Most young people haven't had anything particularly horrible happen to them, so they feel that they are immortal.  (They haven't yet learned that this is only for a limited time.)  So they do insane things like listen to music really fucking loud because it feels awesome to have that bass pounding through your chest.

And since it take years of this abuse, 10 or 20 years usually, before the damage becomes apparent, you don't notice it.  Sure, you're a little deaf after going to a concert or something, but your hearing returns after a day or two.  What you don't notice is that each time it comes back just a little bit short of where it was before.  The cilia in your ears do wear out eventually, leaving you deaf to whatever frequencies they used to receive.  I learned this when I was in high school, and made the decision right then to protect my hearing.  Music means more to me than anything else in the world, and I want to enjoy it as long as I live.

[TempusVox]

As loud as I feel appropriate. Some music only sounds good when blasted, and some music needs to be kept at a low volume to retain dynamic range.

This, though probably far too much on the high end for me.

[robwebster]

Can't say I've ever thought to measure.

It's rarely particularly quietly, but rarely intrusively loud. At its loudest, it's just loud enough to drown out my singing if I'm sitting near the speaker. Plenty over speaking volume, but never rattling the floorboards. At its quietest, it's about speaking volume - which I guess would be about 30dB?

[SPNKr]

Can't say I've ever thought to measure.

It's rarely particularly quietly, but rarely intrusively loud. At its loudest, it's just loud enough to drown out my singing if I'm sitting near the speaker. Plenty over speaking volume, but never rattling the floorboards. At its quietest, it's about speaking volume - which I guess would be about 30dB?

Yeah that's a good level.

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

For songs like The Drapery Falls, I like to crank my volume up because it's just so fucking epic. But for some songs, I don't really care about the volume, like Tom Sawyer.

[Durg]

........What did you say?

[sonatafanica]

Can't say I've ever thought to measure.

It's rarely particularly quietly, but rarely intrusively loud. At its loudest, it's just loud enough to drown out my singing if I'm sitting near the speaker. Plenty over speaking volume, but never rattling the floorboards. At its quietest, it's about speaking volume - which I guess would be about 30dB?

I think I've read somewhere that a "healthy" level to listen at should be quiet enough so that you could hear someone talking normally beside you, so you should be fine in that respect.

[Orbert]

Something that amazes me is how loud the music is in restaurants nowadays.  We used to hit places like Applebee's and Bennigan's, which are restaurant/bar combos, but I guess the idea nowadays is to make the whole place a bar.  The music is so loud that you literally have to yell at the person next to you so that they can hear you over the music, and you can just forget about talking to the people across the table from you; it's just not gonna happen.

The server comes to take your order, and he/she has to scream, and when you try to give your order, you also have to scream.  That doesn't work anyway, so you end up holding the menu and pointing at things.  What the fuck?  Do people really like having the music this fucking loud?  What is the point?  Is it more "cool" or more "fun" when the music is so loud that you can't actually have a conversation?

Basically, we've stopped going to places like that.  And maybe it's a coincidence, but the two Applebee's and the two Bennigan's nearest us have all closed in the past couple of years.  Sure, the economy is bad right now, but certainly it doesn't help if you run a place that is simply unpleasant for customers.

[Durg]

Something that amazes me is how loud the music is in restaurants nowadays.  We used to hit places like Applebee's and Bennigan's, which are restaurant/bar combos, but I guess the idea nowadays is to make the whole place a bar.  The music is so loud that you literally have to yell at the person next to you so that they can hear you over the music, and you can just forget about talking to the people across the table from you; it's just not gonna happen.

The server comes to take your order, and he/she has to scream, and when you try to give your order, you also have to scream.  That doesn't work anyway, so you end up holding the menu and pointing at things.  What the fuck?  Do people really like having the music this fucking loud?  What is the point?  Is it more "cool" or more "fun" when the music is so loud that you can't actually have a conversation?

Basically, we've stopped going to places like that.  And maybe it's a coincidence, but the two Applebee's and the two Bennigan's nearest us have all closed in the past couple of years.  Sure, the economy is bad right now, but certainly it doesn't help if you run a place that is simply unpleasant for customers.

When my kid was a toddler we always looked for a loud restaurant to drown out all the noise he would be making.  Now that he's 11 we can go to nice places where you must have manners.  And watch him play around with a $20 piece of of meat.

[Orbert]

We used to hit "family restaurants" when the kids were younger.  Places like IHOP, Denny's, or Big Boy, where the idea is that kids are okay and there will be a certain amount of noise.  I've never liked places that are just plain loud.  If my kids make too much noise, we leave.

Durg, is your avatar a Yes Union cover with an evil candy corn?

[EstyMaJ]

Tuff question to answer directly so here are my answers

1- In the car if it is something I am really into and not just background music i play loud very way to loud lol but this is not that often .

2- At home I listen to it low due to condo life

3- This is 85 % of the way I listen to music on headphones  Since i got pretty decent set  I even off all my tunes using mp3 gain and i have the tunes set to just under max volume so you don't have to crank up the% volume all the way , but i keep it just enough to hear all the lows and highs just right usually a little over 1/4 volume bar  

Anyway it depends on the equipment you use to get the effect i want

[Durg]

We used to hit "family restaurants" when the kids were younger.  Places like IHOP, Denny's, or Big Boy, where the idea is that kids are okay and there will be a certain amount of noise.  I've never liked places that are just plain loud.  If my kids make too much noise, we leave.

Durg, is your avatar a Yes Union cover with an evil candy corn?

I added the evil candy corn for Halloween.  I guess I'll put a turkey on next.   

[Zydar]

I don't listen loud at all to music, don't see the point. And it's annoying when my neighbours do it.