level of the sound for audio playback compared to dvd on a beocenter 2/beolab 3

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olvisab Posted: Fri, Jan 25 2013 11:45 PM

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Hello eveybody

I have made some test of my new beolab 3 and my beocenter 2 cd/dvd.

When I play a cd , I select 40/45 for the sound volume on average in order to have good results.For a DVD, I am obliged to push it to 60/65 if I want to here clearly the speech and sound effects.

Am I doing something wrong ?

I give you my personnal feelings about the beolab 3 : amazing compared to 6000, 8000, 4000, 5000 and pentas actives.More bass, more details, very clearly and punchy compared to their size.

I understand why on a blind test with the beolab 5, at reasonable sound level, some people were surprised.

If you consider this as PC speakers so you should change your ears definetly ; hat's what I read on this forum one time.

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Magnus replied on Sat, Jan 26 2013 10:05 AM

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Hi!

No, that is quite normal. Movies are generally mastered lover than music so that they have more headroom for loud explosions etc. Modern music, on the other hand, is as flat as a pancake with no dynamic headroom what so ever (it's called the loudness war). If you have some old CDs laying around, try that – they are usually mastered lower.

Glad you like your Beolab 3s!

Magnus

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olvisab replied on Sat, Jan 26 2013 10:56 AM

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Hi Magnus,

Thanks for your clear explanations. I was upset to push the sound too high.

What is the limit in order to avoid any damages on the beolabs 3 ?

Again, thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.

Best regards

Olivier

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Magnus replied on Sat, Jan 26 2013 12:36 PM

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Hi,

The "damage level" will depend on the input-signal – it's the sound level they produce that matters, not the number on the Beocenter 2. It's totally OK to crank it up to a high number when the input signal is low. So I wouldn't worry, as long as the sound is clear and good, and not distorting, the speakers are OK! Just be a bit careful when changing from DVD to Radio or CD, turn the volume down first.

Magnus

EDIT: I can add that when I'm playing a CD I'm usually at volume 30-38, but when I'm listening to a vinyl record or watching a movie I'm usually at volume 50 or so.