will
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As suggested, so many variables... room size can be huge...listening tastes.... how loud the particular speakers have to be to really load the room for optimal sound and soundstage....how the room's reflections, etc, effect balances for better or worse ... how strong transients are, a faster more dynamic system will have stronger dynamic contrasts so a lower average volume to limit transient distortion... how equally weighted speaker efficiency measurements are.... how clean or dull the system/room is... etc
My space is pretty spread out in how it rambles with big openings from space to space off the main area. Maybe similar in total volume as Tommy's, but guessing a little smaller, and with a fair bit of irregularity in how that volume is organized. I have two 22-25 watt amps, a Torii IV and a 300B/845, and with my 92-92.5 dB HR-1s, I was good most of the time, and good for the most part for my loudest, late night listening sessions when I really wanted the room to load fully and drop me into immersion... But that put me on an edge that was very close. To be sure, I had to base the volume on known transients in a few tunes on the test list, having a peak or two that audibly distorted when just a touch too high on the knob.... Even if only a few times in a play list... I really got sick of that limitation.
To be clearer, these test list transients generally sound slightly distorted at lower volumes, so began with recordings....but.... now, with speakers rated at ±97 dB, I hear these slight recorded distortions, but not distortions from overdriving the system...I have not measured with these speakers, but with the less efficient but highly tuned up and resolving/balanced HR-1s, as I recall, loud listening was roughly 70-80 dB averages (A weighted) with transients in the low 80s to low 90s, usually not getting out of the 80s. Now I probably play a few dB louder in those late night sessions, and no more edge.
Not that this would be the case for others in other rooms... just another experience. But I do I tend to think that it is a little too easy for us audio seekers to love things enough to allow overlooking limitations, and guess some low power lovers find less loud than perhaps hoped can be fine overall... And if so, this is probably good, easier on the ears. It took me years to change here, but now that I did, I realize just how much I personally would rather have extra headroom for my setup than not enough for all listening preferences.
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