Forgot to say, this also got me thinking about it
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That’s a life hack right there. I might use this in my quest for audio bliss 
Thanks
This might be my favourite podcast BTW.
Likewise, I discovered it from a post on here (possibly from you) and listened to the whole thing over the last couple weeks, even the awkward silences of the first 35 episodes didn’t put me off. I’ve signed up to support it on Patreon but with no new episodes don’t know if it will come to much. Seems Mike is only working on “Fun City” at the moment which I’ve downloaded but not listened to yet.
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I seem to think I did post it so that’s possible. Factual but quirky enough to be interesting is my take. I like a lot.
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Volume is entirely dependant on whether my wife is home.
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But to sort of answer the original question…
I have a three-minute pink noise track that I play via Roon’s volume levelling function, and set playback level at the amp to 70dBA measured using the SoundMeter X app on an iPad, checked previously to agree with a calibrated Umik and REW.
This should mean that average playback levels using R128 are indeed 70dBA!
Ambient is about 35dBA when the washing machine’s not on a fast spin…
Almost never need to touch the volume control.
Brilliant bit of kit! I used mine on beach holidays (remember those?) and eventually passed it on to my Son who used it for a few more years until the seals failed and it was no longer splashproof.
Spent a little more time testing between the umik / iPhone and it seems to match on louder volumes which makes me think apple might be filtering out sub 30db or calibrate their mic’s to be less sensitive.
And both android devices are way off, though could just be the particular hardware.
Make sure they are using the same weighting, eg flat, A, C. ‘A’ weighting for example attempts to take account of the ear’s varying sensitivity by frequency and level, so will not be directly comparable to a ‘flat’ measurement.
It probably doesn’t matter which you use - unless you are an aspiring acoustics professional - as long as you are consistently comparing apples with apples.
The usual damping is A, that is said to correspond to ear sensitivity, so it is gives little weight to frequencies below 100 Hz. I discussed the topic of urban nuisance with university people who found relatively poor correlation between subjective perception of noise pollution and measured A level. C damping gives a hifi like response damping. I believe it is more appropriate and could provide better correlation to perceived nuisance. Possibly simply because insulation against low frequencies is much harder to achieve in homes as well as office spaces. In the end, the “usual’ damping curve might satisfy the industry better than the healthcare people.
I listen using a variety of levels, depending on music itself, and also to account for more or less present background noise, currently living in urban area.
In theory, only the realism of what is recorded should drive level. Listening to a classical guitar, to a grand piano, to a big band, to a symphonic orchestra or a rock concert, there are huge differences in level. Adapting the playback level is part of High Fidelity equation as well as sensation.
Then the issue of background noise is the masking of low level details. I find that I tend to adjust the level so as to be happy with low level detail. Listening sometimes up to 6 or even 10 dB louder in busy daytime than during the night.
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just downloaded to my iPhone a db Meter app and… looks my usual comfortable listening level (about 10 o’clock on my Metrum Adagio’s volume knob) is a mere 60-65db
sounds a confirmation of what I always said: the better a system sounds the quieter I can set the volume to 
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Probably considered a heresy here … due to wanting to be able to hear stuff around me … I’ve recently started using AfterShokz Aeropex instead of my usual headphones when at the computer.
The sound quality surprised me and the listening levels don’t seem to be particularly loud - though I don’t know how you’d ever measure the sound level on this sort of device.
Don’t think they’ll work as the Aeropex are bone transmission … they’d just come back as very quiet I’d guess.
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My bad, you are right I suspect. Should have read the product description more carefully. 
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Hmm. What does ‘loudness’ mean with bone conduction?
Can listening too ‘loud’ make you ‘deaf’? Google…
I just measured the background level and got 29dB, then my stomach rumbled and I got 32dB.
Better put the music back on and go have some lunch! 
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Peter
Ah yes, ‘Selective Spousal Deafness’ - a well-known phenomenon. Of course, the scientific name for hearing loss with age is presbyacusis.
In a similar way, presbyopia is the natural phenomenon of the lens of the human eye becoming more stiff as we get older. This hinders optical ‘accommodation’ - the ability to bring near objects into focus - and the cause of the common need for reading specs with age. Of course, presbyopia is a god-given gift that allows us to continue finding our aging partner attractive (and vice versa). When our wives are closer than about a metre, possibly during an intimate moment, we can see only an oval blur, on which we impose a memory of 30 years ago!!
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