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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => Audio Measurement and Testing => Topic started by: Timothy Olsen on September 20, 2014, 05:03:55 PM

Title: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Timothy Olsen on September 20, 2014, 05:03:55 PM: Hello,

I am looking for a way to tell what decibel level my headphones are giving out without using a sound-recorder of any type. I would like to try and make an algorithm that takes the information about the sound coming from the computer, and information about the output from the headphones, and deciphers the dB level coming out of the headphones.

I was wondering if anyone knows if this may be at all possible? Is it possible to get some kind of information from the computer (e.g. a sound output value from the sound-card), and information from the headphones (e.g. their impedence value), and find out what level of sound the headphones are producing?

Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.

Tim
Title: Re: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Merlijn van Veen on September 20, 2014, 05:42:05 PM: Quote from: timolsen on September 20, 2014, 05:03:55 PM
Hello,

I am looking for a way to tell what decibel level my headphones are giving out without using a sound-recorder of any type. I would like to try and make an algorithm that takes the information about the sound coming from the computer, and information about the output from the headphones, and deciphers the dB level coming out of the headphones.

I was wondering if anyone knows if this may be at all possible? Is it possible to get some kind of information from the computer (e.g. a sound output value from the sound-card), and information from the headphones (e.g. their impedence value), and find out what level of sound the headphones are producing?

Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.

Tim

Please change your name as specified in the forum rules.

Sincerely,

Merlijn
Title: Posting Rules
Post by: Mac Kerr on September 20, 2014, 10:52:14 PM: Quote from: timolsen on September 20, 2014, 05:03:55 PM
Hello,

Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.

Tim

Please go to your profile and change the "Name" field to your real first and last name as required by the posting rules displayed in the header at the top of the section, and in the Site Rules and Suggestions (http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/board,36.0.html) in the Forum Announcements section, and on the registration page when you registered.

Mac
Title: Re: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Lyle Williams on September 26, 2014, 05:07:14 AM: The relative efficiency of the different headphones is an unknown.
Title: Re: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Art Welter on September 28, 2014, 02:38:44 PM: Quote from: Timothy Olsen on September 20, 2014, 05:03:55 PM
Hello,

I am looking for a way to tell what decibel level my headphones are giving out without using a sound-recorder of any type.
I was wondering if anyone knows if this may be at all possible? Is it possible to get some kind of information from the computer (e.g. a sound output value from the sound-card), and information from the headphones (e.g. their impedence value), and find out what level of sound the headphones are producing?
Tim,

What you are attempting to do is possible, but would require measurement of the headphone's frequency response with a given voltage level, which then could be correlated with the headphone output voltage.

With regular loudspeakers frequency response and sensitivity are not difficult measurements, but the shape and size of ears varies, and with the sound source so close to the ear canal, those differences can affect the output by several dB.

Art
Title: Re: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Forrest C Gilmore on September 29, 2014, 02:34:46 PM: I would purchase an inexpensive sound level meter and cup the headphones around it. This should give you the data you need. Pros use a head-shaped device with implanted microphones, but this should not be needed in your case.
Title: Posting Rules
Post by: Mac Kerr on September 29, 2014, 08:00:29 PM: Quote from: DoctorG on September 29, 2014, 02:34:46 PM
I would purchase an inexpensive sound level meter

Please go to your profile and change the "Name" field to your real first and last name as required by the posting rules displayed in the header at the top of the section, and in the Site Rules and Suggestions (http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/board,36.0.html) in the Forum Announcements section, and on the registration page when you registered.

Mac
Title: Re: Getting decibel level from computer and headphone information
Post by: Art Welter on September 30, 2014, 04:12:37 PM: Quote from: Forrest C Gilmore on September 29, 2014, 02:34:46 PM
I would purchase an inexpensive sound level meter and cup the headphones around it. This should give you the data you need.
Forrest,

A SLM only accurately reads a single frequency at a time, to measure the response of a speaker using a SLM is a very laborious process, requiring thousands of tests to do what a (free) RTA program could do in a few seconds.
That said, the mic used in a SLM could be used with various frequency response test systems.