[NA] - Movie Theater Volume

kaiser

kaiser

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The pilot formerly known as Cool Beard Guy
What is the deal with the volume at Movie theaters? (In my best Seinfeld voice)

Took the fam to a movie … and the sound was unbearably loud. We all have earplugs or noise headsets on and it’s almost not enough.
 
I feel the same about rock concerts. I've been to a ton and have tinnitus because of it, and other less-than-brilliant things I did as a younger one, but why do they need to be ten million decibels?
 
You could've given the manager an earful! But there's a good chance he wouldn't have heard a word you said ... :dunno:
 
"If its too loud, you are too old!"

Jokes aside, I've noticed the same. It seems like the audio techs just like to max out every amp and every speaker. I've been to concerts that had the volume so jacked up I couldn't even make out what song was actually being played nor hear the vocals. I've taken to wearing ear plugs to all concerts just to be able to hear the music.

I've noticed in movies as well, the vocals and dialogue are recorded so quiet, then the soundtrack blasts in and eradicates your hearing. Even streaming movies at home has become annoying because you have to turn the volume up to hear the actors, then turn it down when the music breaks back in.
 
kaiser said:
What is the deal with the volume at Movie theaters? (In my best Seinfeld voice)

Took the fam to a movie … and the sound was unbearably loud. We all have earplugs or noise headsets on and it’s almost not enough.
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BECAUSE!!!
 
Grum.Man said:
One of many reasons I no longer visit theaters.
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The primary for us is the near complete lack of anything worth paying to see... there is the occasional exception, but somehow we never get around to it and end up watching it at home a few weeks after. At our own volume level, with pauses for pee breaks and kettle corn refills.
 
DaleB said:
The primary for us is the near complete lack of anything worth paying to see... there is the occasional exception, but somehow we never get around to it and end up watching it at home a few weeks after. At our own volume level, with pauses for pee breaks and kettle corn refills.
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But regardless of how high-fidelity your equipment is, at home you aren't getting the full theater-going experience of paying $12 for a bucket of popcorn and $8 for one soda.
 
I thought movie theaters were meant for super loud surround sound and sneaking pints of booze into?
 
Those speakers at movie theaters only have an on/off button. No lever to adjust volume.
 
A lot of audio “engineers” mask the poor quality of the music with VOLUME.
 
The more scientific answer is Dolby and THX reference volumes. THX reference is 85db, with 20db for peaks (explosions, etc). When setting up my home theater, THX reference is a bit much at the MLP so I (and most others) target closer to 80db for initial sound processing. I pretty much never listen to anything near that level though.
 
we went to a movie last weekend and were bothered by a rattle from a blown speaker for the whole movie. After the movie I see my SIL speaking to a worker, presumably the manager. I walked up and asked if she was telling him about the blown speaker. Yep.
Manager just said oh, that was form the beyonce concert.
No sorry, no nothing...just oh.... I walked away saying well they shouldn't have sold us the tickets full price if they knew about it!!!

It was a good movie (The Boys in the boat) but between the speaker rattle and the overhead recessed lights that are left on for safety but unshielded so that you can't see the screen without staring at a lightbulb.... well it could have been a better experience. oh well. At least it didn't cost a fortunre.... oh wait...nevermind
 
My hearing is crap. I was tested recently and I don't need hearing aids but I'm close. Apparently it's common to first loose the frequencies where human speech resides which is why people have trouble in crowded rooms. In any case, I drive the people in my house nuts b/c, when watching a movie, I turn the home theater volume up so I don't miss the dialog. But then an action sequence starts and the volume can sometimes be too much. I wonder if theaters are catering to people w/ hearing loss???

Edit: I've customized the receiver to maximize the center channel. But I still need to crank the volume to hear dialog.
 
X3 Skier said:
After COVID shut down theaters, I discovered I didn’t miss them.
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I don't mind theaters too much (ours are pretty top-notch), but my home theater (and my parents as well) will rival the theater in just about every way. Comfortable overstuffed/reclining seating, 7.2.4 surround sound, and immersive screens. My parents actually designed their current home with a dedicated theater room, which has 3 rows of risers so that no one's head blocks the view of the 120" screen. I remember watching the first PoTC movie in their theater room after I wired it all up . . . the bass from the two subwoofers on the cannon shots felt like it went through your chest, lol. Home audio has a come a LONG way in the past 20 years, so getting Atmos/Auro3D at home is as easy as ever.
 
Mahneuvers said:
My hearing is crap. I was tested recently and I don't need hearing aids but I'm close. Apparently it's common to first loose the frequencies where human speech resides which is why people have trouble in crowded rooms. In any case, I drive the people in my house nuts b/c, when watching a movie, I turn the home theater volume up so I don't miss the dialog. But then an action sequence starts and the volume can sometimes be too much. I wonder if theaters are catering to people w/ hearing loss???

Edit: I've customized the receiver to maximize the center channel. But I still need to crank the volume to hear dialog.
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There's usually a setting on modern AVRs that specifically adjusts the voice frequencies so that they are more forward. It's called "Dialog Enhancer" on Denon/Marantz and Yamaha AVRs, not sure on others. There's also usually nighttime modes that cut out the bass and trim the volume peaks to avoid waking sleeping housemates while still using the main speakers.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Sometimes even the lead singer can't hear the vocals..
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I went to a bunch of concerts in the mid to late ‘70s. Ted Nugent was the opening act at one of them. I seriously think he is one of the reasons I wear hearing aids today. It was the loudest concert I was ever at.
 
Jim_CAK said:
I went to a bunch of concerts in the mid to late ‘70s. Ted Nugent was the opening act at one of them. I seriously think he is one of the reasons I wear hearing aids today. It was the loudest concert I was ever at.
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Pretty sure my ever-present tinnitus resulted mostly from one concert. Foghat, Iron Butterfly, one other I can't recall, and Cheap Trick. That was the last time I made the mistake of going to a concert without ear plugs, believe me. All of them were loud, of course, but Cheap Trick was so over-driven they'd be halfway through a song before I figured out what they were playing. Couldn't hear squat for several days afterward.
 
I wish I could blame my hearing loss and tinnitus on something as fun as a concert. As a kid, our lawnmower would burn a ring in the yard where I stopped to empty the bag. A "handy" mechanic solved the problem by disconnecting the muffler which redirected the un-suppressed sound and exhaust into my face :( I mowed yards for $ so I spent many hours a year exposed to that. I was also taught in football to tackle with my helmet first (what is clearly targeting today). I'm sure I had an undiagnosed concussion or three. I can't wait to see how that manifests in another 10 years.
 
Mahneuvers said:
I was also taught in football to tackle with my helmet first (what is clearly targeting today). I'm sure I had an undiagnosed concussion or three. I can't wait to see how that manifests in another 10 years.
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Yeah, I was taught the same way. I had my bell rung several times to the point that I did not know where I was or what I was doing. I was just led off the field until I could remember my name and then back into the game.

The school I went to wasn't big enough to have a starting offense and a starting defense, so the only rest we got during the game was laying on the field for a minute or two until the coaches pulled us to our feet. But we built character...
 
Mahneuvers said:
I wish I could blame my hearing loss and tinnitus on something as fun as a concert. As a kid, our lawnmower would burn a ring in the yard where I stopped to empty the bag. A "handy" mechanic solved the problem by disconnecting the muffler which redirected the un-suppressed sound and exhaust into my face :( I mowed yards for $ so I spent many hours a year exposed to that. I was also taught in football to tackle with my helmet first (what is clearly targeting today). I'm sure I had an undiagnosed concussion or three. I can't wait to see how that manifests in another 10 years.
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I blame my tinnitus on an acetylene bomb gone wrong.
 
Zeldman said:
Did your eye brows ever grow back.??

''Experimenting'' with black powder have left mine a little thin...
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Luckily my head was turned, which is why my right ear is worse. But it did get the hair on my right arm. You couldn't tell immediately because the dust that was on the wall was on me.
 
DaleB said:
Pretty sure my ever-present tinnitus resulted mostly from one concert. Foghat, Iron Butterfly, one other I can't recall, and Cheap Trick. That was the last time I made the mistake of going to a concert without ear plugs, believe me.
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The crazy part is how individualized some of this stuff is. A friend of mine was Keith Richards guitar tech for something like 35 years and told me about how there was a spot in pretty much every set list where he knew there wouldn't be an instrument change and he could chill for a song or two. He would stick his head between a couple of the amps and basically meditate and breath until jumping back at it. He's about 80 now and has about the best hearing of any senior I know!
 
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