Karaoke Forums

Sorry Chuck,  All kidding aside,  the most honest answer a person can give you would be "under certain conditions".  Wattage is measured in different ways, and I'm sure most of us that are from the older "tube era" can vouche for the fact that in most cases a 150 watt RMS tube amp with efficiently matched speakers could blow the eardrums out've most in a 30x60 room, however there is wattage at different ohms, peak wattage, running median squared <?????> wattage (RMS), and what we hear when listening to sound isn't JUST wattage, but how it's delivered, and under what conditions, Speaker delivery of an amps wattage (sound pressure ??), etc....... and as mentioned prior, room conditions...  Just based upon volume of sound we perceive in a room as a listener, we can't gauge JUST something as general as "wattage", because how all the components match (are integrated), and how efficiently sound is delivered is a huge factor here... certain frequencies also carry to our ear at lower wattage (higher frequencies) ..  It's not a simple concept.  "Wattage" alone isn't what we concern ourselves with. "wattage" can become an elusive term in such a sense.  Not so simple to grasp in terms of "perceived sound"

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Chuck,  read this to get a rough idea of how wattage, volume, headroom etc work ..  Just give this a read for a rough idea of what you are dealing with in the "overall sound package", read this to understand how wattage and sound relate in a more basic less technical delivery of a complicated area of audio engineering.. It's good for ALL of us at some point to understand the basics of the audio realm we are involved with ..

http://www.speakerboy.org/How_much_powe ... ps_QA.html


Added in:

One other thought regarding this Chuck,  I've been using the term wattage for at least the past 40+ years of my life, and don't really have a clue what this technical term means.  It's one of these somewhat abstract concepts like "wind", or perhaps "water pressure".  We see the effects of these concepts, we hear about stuff everyday resulting from these concepts, but few really KNOW that much about the basics and principles of such concepts. I started asking questions about this stuff when I became fascinated in Tsunami physics, or even within the past two years niagra falls, how can only 15 inches of what going over the crest of the falls be so ominously powerful ? and with the recent number of storms over the past few years, just WHAT is a 70 mph wind ?  How is it really measured, why can few 200 lb strong adults stand up straight in a wind like that ?  Is it more than just how fast a small piece of paper will fly if you drop it into the wind ? Why can a small critter scurry around the ground in a wind that I can't even stand up in ?   Why does a jetliner weighing MANY tons become airborne when traveling less than 150 MPH down a runway (this gets into airfoils, resistance, pressure, etc I suppose, not quite so simple for some of us more visual but less technical folk.    

While most of us think we know what wind, wattage, and other technical concepts mean, most of us also take forgranted that what we hear, or in the case of wind -(feel and see) isn't just "wind" but also resistance of objects to the wind, what we hear isn't just "wattage" either, there's alot more going on that isn't obvious, it's abstract...  I've asked this same question within the past three years, wasn't until I got into an audiophile room, and opened my mouth that I realized this is a WHOLE different language, so don't feel bad. Electronics, and sound physics isn't a simple concept to those that don't like intricate scientific concepts..  I get turned off when it comes to technical terminology too...  Sort've like car engines.  I look at the car and assume if it's shiny it has something under the hood that will enable it to move assuming I just put gas in it...  It gets worse,  I've had past girlfriends gap the spark-plugs, and change oil because that stuff is too damn filthy for me...Hey,  so I'm a tad quirky,  sue me  LMAO


Had this discussion taken place in the "Tech Room", I'd naturally have stayed away ! But since it's in the general discussion area, I figured I could sneak some levity as well as my own feelings on NOT being a tech person into this !

I'm over here now.  Just yell if you see me !

 Home Recording dot com BBS > Equipment Forums > Other Equipment and Reviews  
Sound Engineering For Dummies !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Smart A$$  OK, over and done  :hi5:

ok if that garage does not have carpet on the floor or walls and the sound would be bouncing around as if in a tin can then just use your home stereo    or one of those karaoke machines from radio shack  

Dang, no wonder I sound like crap on my subs....but I still don't know where the unit came from, my daughter got it for me.

Cool! I learned something from this thread! Now, I just need the brains to apply it....and the funds to buy it. Thanks!  :biggrinthumb:

That is 4800 watts my spl at 20 meters is 143db.[quote]

143db at 20 m; that is loud. I may have to sit at the car park  

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

This is interesting.  From Wikipedia


dB (SPL) Source (with distance)
194 Theoretical limit for a sound wave at 1 atmosphere environmental pressure; pressure waves with a greater intensity behave as shock waves.
180 Krakatoa volcano explosion at 1 mile in air [1]
160 M1 Garand being fired at 1 meter (3 ft)
150 Jet engine at 30 m (100 ft)
140 Low Caliber Rifle being fired at 1m (3 ft); the engine of a Formula One car at 1 meter (3 ft)
130 Threshold of pain; civil defense siren at 100 ft (30 m)
120 Train horn at 1 m (3 ft). Perforation of eardrums.
110 Football stadium during kickoff at 50 yard line; chainsaw at 1 m (3 ft)
100 Jackhammer at 2 m (7 ft); inside discothèque
90 Loud factory, heavy truck at 1 m (3 ft)
80 Vacuum cleaner at 1 m (3 ft), curbside of busy street, PLVI of City
70 Busy traffic at 5 m (16 ft)
60 Office or restaurant inside
50 Quiet restaurant inside
40 Residential area at night
30 Theatre, no talking
20 Whispering
10 Human breathing at 3 m (10 ft)
0 Threshold of human hearing (with healthy ears); sound of a mosquito flying 3 m (10 ft) away

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I think fireworks are about 190 DB too.  Those things are VERY loud.  Even though I've been around "loud" for years,  I can not, and will not go near fireworks.  That explosion knocks me in the chest, seriously-  I get winded from it.  Yeah,  I might be a wuss,  but what that amount of sound at that frequency level does to me is strange,  scares the #*$^ out've me,  always did when I was young too.  Loudest sound I ever experienced sort've made me lose my guts..   I was right in front of a ferry about to board in New Brunswick (I think) heading to PEI.  This was years ago, but that horn knocked me off my feet, and literally caused involuntary weird stuff to happen  :shock:   This stuff has got to be dangerous to some of us... Probably cause arrythmia's or something.


Matt remember we were discussing something like this about a year ago ?  You mentioned something about a really loud sound doing something to you too ?  Really loud bass frequencies have a physical affect.  They must.   Shrill high frequencies although deafening I'm not sure that they can kill folks.

When you consider how thunder shakes and bows larger windows, vibrates things off've shelves and walls..  doesn't excessively loud sound at a low frequency impact a person physically with the waves created ?    Karyoker,  remember this one ?  20 Hz explosion of sound ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note


According to Wikipedia this is Urban Legend.  Quite honestly,  If more people that are sensitive to very very high volumes of low frequency sounds were a part of this random sampling group, my guess is they'd dispel this being myth.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

And, this is documented on OSHA's and NIOSH's web sites, 8 hours exposure daily over 85db is going to damage your hearing --- permanently Some bar owners have recently been reported to OSHA and fined because their music was too loud!

Over what duration though ?  as a classic rock musician I spent MANY years in front of dangerous volumes.  Tinitus is often temporary, (I had nerve deafness every night after leaving gigs, concerts, practices in the 60's and 70's, felt like that film of water was filled in the ear canal and very little could be heard until the following day), this went on for years (likely WELL over 120 DB standing in front of Marshall stacks and Ampeg SVT cabs for years as well at least 4 times a week for close to at least 6 hours.. I have some nerve damage in only one ear.. I spent over 25 years almost daily exposed to ridiculously loud volumes, my right ear is actually in better shape than most my age (and this does perplex me) left ear low and high frequencies are somewhat shot however.  Thing is, I also had abscesses in my left ear as a kid quite often even prior to music..  While I agree LOUD can do some damage, I wonder HOW loud for what time-span to really make a significant difference.  The police were constantly getting called by neighbors several streets away (as well as closer) in those days prior to "noise pollution" concerns, and town ordinance bans on volumes over __ DB's..  In those days it was LOUD..

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Steve it also depends on what noise level you were listening to for the rest of the day; office work?  The 85dbA is based on then going on to listen to an average amount of radio in the car, TV, etc. and getting the average amount of sleep/low noise.  It is a time weighted average so if you can be exposed to higher volumes for less than 8 hours and not experience the same levels of damage as someone who is exposed for longer periods