As a drummer, I am used to repeated exposure to a wide range of SPLs, not only from my drums, but also the amplified instruments in close proximity. I believe that the two best ways to enjoy listening to music are either to be in a good seat at a live performance, or to be in the practice room or recording studio with the band.
I don’t know the science or psychology of it, but there’s got to be a big difference in any lasting physiological impact between prolonged exposure to loud chaotic industrial noise vs listening to ones’ favorite music, even if at the same SPLs. The brain pleasurably anticipates each next note in music as reassuringly as an unborn baby experiences it’s mother’s next heartbeat inches away in the womb.
For as long as I can remember, I've been immersed in dangerously loud shop environments, or at the race track, from air impact tools, compressed air blow-guns, 20Lb sledgehammers knocking pivot pins in or out of radius rod beams etc., so I must wear passive noise isolation cups or active noise canceling ear protection to save my hearing.
Since elevated music playback volume is the central topic here, let’s take a step back to the live performance, having been recorded and saved somehow to be enjoyed later, presumably and faithfully duplicating the artist/s intended musical product back to the listener, hopefully, in very close to its original form regarding sound quality and volume.
A HiFi system is just a “sound reproducer”, better ones do a more perfect job of it.
Acoustic guitar with a vocal accompaniment suggests an appropriate volume setting on your HiFi, whereas Led Zeppelin might be a LOT louder, but how much louder?
I went to see Lenny White (Chick Corea’s drummer) with Twennynine, who opened for Tower Of Power, LW was amazing in concert, but after a few minutes of T.O.P. with speakers stacked floor to ceiling and across the entire width of the stage, I had to walk out, it was far too brutally loud! I always love their music and it hurt my heart to leave, but I knew I might have permanent ear damage if I stayed. I was pressing those little fleshy flaps over my ear canal with my thumbs and still couldn’t bear the ludicrous SPLs.
My main system can accurately reproduce those same T.O.P. concert sound pressure levels, but I never ever crank it up that loud, all this ‘overkill’ is only here to provide ample headroom for the odd transient spike, so none of my expensive stuff gets hurt or produces painful distortion caused by low power amps, line level source delivery deficiencies or from inadequate speakers.
I’ve never been much of a ‘rocker’ more of a ‘jazzer’, but I also love Bossa, Latin, Fusion, World, Funk, Soul, NeoSoul, Acid Jazz, R&B, Blue Grass, Classical, Lounge/Chill/Electronica, Blues, etc., but any of it has to be played back at it’s full original performance SPLs for my to really and truly enjoy it. Listening at very quiet levels is a very different experience for me, and when quiet levels are required, I still enjoy the hell out of it, but still,,, it is a different experience than when listening at full original volume.
It is axiomatic that music played at much lower volume can not have the same dynamic range as when played louder.
In a playback setup I like a functionally silent noise floor, with an accurate and killer dynamic range which is faithful to the actual live performance much more so than listening to an audiophile’s polite vinyl / tube amp / playback rig in a perfect room, and carefully positioned in the magical sweet spot chair. If they are the same sonically, I am equally happy with both!!!
Note: the ONLY thing I’ve EVER experienced as loud as that T.O.P. concert was during my years at the race track working around top fuel dragsters, standing at the starting line just a few feet behind two top fuel race cars when they launch .... YIKES!!!!! That sound instantly and violently transforms your time space continuum, even if it only lasts 3 seconds! Wow!, I’m starting to think of all the damage I must’ve done to myself, because while these two T/F cars stage at the tree, the air becomes saturated with nitromethane to the point your eyes are burning and it’s hard to breath without coughing and choking.