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.
(See document for exact affiliation information.)
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 Join the AES. If you need to check your member status, login to the Member Portal.
