-15 dB??

If I did that on my system I'd probably go deaf (and lose a lot of glass). My across-the-street neighbors could hear that.

I can listen at -35dB comfortably (it's quiet, but fine). Typical is about -31 dB. When I want to fill the room I go to about -26-28 dB. That's, ummm, powerful. I don't know that I've ever gone above -25 dB.

1poorguy
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For the heck of it I just turned on the TV and set it to -35.0. Yeah, I can hear it just fine, but I like about -28 for normal TV shows. The -15 is just for movies. Definitely a little too loud for TNT, for instance, just tried it.

And for the heck of it, I've put it on music; 7 channel stereo, and one of those DirecTV music channels, Got it up to -9.5 and seems a bit quiet. Fleetwood Mac is playing. Let's try another setting, good old 2 channel stereo output on my trusty old Boston Acoustic CR8s, does -1.5 very comfortably. Could go higher, um +1 is quite nice but I'll turn it down to make the dogs happier. -7.5 should do.

:-)

RM

RM: The differences between your system and 1poorguy’s is speaker efficiency. Not there’s anything wrong with yours yet 1poorguy’s take less power to achieve a particular volume effect at the speakers. Your setting could be, say,-25 dB and his likewise – and sitting in his HT you would say, ‘Gawd Maude, that’s loud!” and it would be while in yours acceptable.

There’s another factor: loudness and volume. Both you and 1poorguy have good amps where the master grain control effect both volume and loudness.

Short digression. Volume is sound pressure measured in decibels; loudness is the control for compensation of frequencies (equalization) that alters with volume. When volume increases the loudness control decreases bass and emphasizes treble. And, yes, there is a sweet point: an SPL meter reading of 85 dB (THX standard). For most that’s too loud and that’s why Yamaha has ‘quiet listening’ circuits for late night listening. This circuit is a loudness control that gives a better equalization when the volume is set low.

But back to speaker efficiency. Lots has been written about this but it boils down to how many decibels output for wattage input. Get 95 dB for 100 Watts is better than 75 Db for 100 Watts. In practice it is relatively meaningless since turning up the volume to 95 dB is easily done (and scare the pets). Yes, the Ohm rating of a speaker figures in there but since the nominal Ohm rating is either 8 or 4 and that shifts rapidly upward with increase in volume the math is staggeringly complex.

One last: the room. 1poorguy’s is full of angles while yours. RM. Is a Bavarian Hunting Lodge. Both are widely different and that difference can also be expressed in usable volume coming from the speakers. Larger rooms have more reverb and while that can be problematic it does allow for higher db settings for listening.

RM, theose Boston Acoustics CR8’s are the most efficient speakers you have. That’s why they handle the volume/loudness so well.

MichaelR