From: utzoo!watmath!watarts!bernie
Newsgroups: net.misc
Title: Re: Loud Music: Why?
Article-I.D.: watarts.1719
Posted: Thu Mar  3 22:47:32 1983
Received: Sat Mar  5 02:23:32 1983
Reply-To: bernie@watarts (Bernie Roehl)
References: cwruecmp.526

Best theory I've heard as to why some people like their music LOUD is
that their frequency response curve drops off really quickly.
In other words, their ability to hear a given sound drops rapidly as the
frequency of the sound increases; they don't hear high frequencies as well
as they do low frequencies.  They therefore crank up the volume overall,
so as to have enough volume in the frequencies where their hearing is weak;
their brains compensate for the increase in the lower frequency sounds, and
smooth things out for them.  The music sounds "richer" at a higher volume,
since they are able to discern sounds in a range that was invisible to them
at a lower volume.
Here's a nice touch of irony : their inability to hear high-frequency sounds
well is probably due to long-term exposure to loud music; the cause and the
consequence are one.
				--Bernie Roehl