Your opinion on bad sound

a7yvm109gf5d1 · 2008-12-01T20:47:25+00:00

I like to go clubbing. I've noticed that sometimes the sound qualityis terrible. Distortion like clipping due to using underpowered amps.I've also noticed that after a night out at these places I get a badringing that lasts for weeks, and it's not just my regular tinnitus,it's new tones and a weird screeching sound when I listen to everydayloud noises.It usually subsides after a few weeks. However, when I got to loudertechno places but with proper sound, I get ringing but it subsidesafter a day or two.I'm well aware that hearing doesn't regenerate itself and that anyextra ringing indicates the loss of more sensitive cells...My theory is that the human ear protects itself by tightening theeardrum or stiffening the impedance transformer at the entrance of thecanal. Is it possible that crappy sound with a low average level buthigh peaks of distorsion energy actually let more sound into the ear?I think that ultrasonic energy will damage your hearing, much likeinvisible UV radiation will burn your skin. Do clipping amps generatea lot of energy that is above 20KHz? I can't bring my equipment intothese clubs...I'd like to start somewhere with this theory... I want clubs and barsto have decent sound.

Dec 01, 2008 22 Replies

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Rich Grise 17 years ago

Wear ear plugs. You can make them out of crumpled napkin.

I've heard that excessively loud sounds can cause brain damage - or was that the other way around? ;-)

Good Luck! Rich

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Ben Bradley 17 years ago

The perception of volume is logarithmic, but the actual detection of sounds has to be linear, else you're hearing a distorted version of the sound. But of course nothing is perfectly linear, even the air is slightly nonlinear, and so causes very low-level harmonics in any sound travelling through it. But that's insignificant compared to the distortion in the amplifiers and speakers discussed in this thread.

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Dirk Bruere at NeoPax 17 years ago

Wear earplugs.

Dirk http://www.transcendence.me.uk/ - Transcendence UK http://www.theconsensus.org/ - A UK political party http://www.onetribe.me.uk/wordpress/?cat=5 - Our podcasts on weird stuff

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