RE: Determining maximum volume

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Determining maximum volume

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guycog	guycog posted 11 Years Ago Topic Details Share Topic
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 24	Hi, I'm trying to use the Competitive Reaction Time Task and I want to limit the maximum volume the participants will hear in their headphones. I can see where to change the relative volume (between 0 and -10000) but is there a way to know how much dB (Decibels) each level represents? Thanks you very much, Guy
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Dave	Dave posted 11 Years Ago ANSWER Post Details Share Post
Group: Administrators Posts: 13K, Visits: 108K	> [...] is there a way to know how much dB (Decibels) each level represents? No [1]. Suppose you leave the volume unadjusted (no attenuation, i.e. -10000): - If a system's audio amplifier is cranked to the max, the sound pressure output will be greater than when its set to half etc. - Different WAVs may have different volume, regardless of hardware and software audio settings, a sound with a low amplitude waveform will produce less sound pressure than a sound with a more extreme waveform. If you want to really know the dB SPL output on a given system for a given sound, you need to measure it using a suitable device, i.e. a sound level meter. [1] I assume when your say "how much dB each level represents" what you are really asking about is sound pressure level measured in dB (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure#Sound_pressure_level). dB in and of itself is an abstract unit expressing a ratio on a logarithmic scale (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel, particularly see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel#Uses; you seem to be mixing up or conflating dB use / meaning in acoustics vs. use / meaning in electronics). Edited 11 Years Ago by Dave
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