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ear buds

Is this government intrusion on personal rights?

  • yes

    Votes: 25 65.8%
  • no

    Votes: 4 10.5%
  • it's for their own good.

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • **** off

    Votes: 8 21.1%

  • Total voters
    38
SPL can't be measured by the output from the audio jack, as each speaker (headphone) will take the power given it and use it to create SPL that you perceive as music more efficiently or less efficiently depending on its design.

Also, higher frequencies are more damaging to hearing than lower frequencies, so overall SPL isn't an ideal indicator of hearing loss potential. Inside a car you are exposed to a lot of low frequency sound, but that frequency range isn't nearly as damaging to hearing as the high pitched whine of a ricer motorcycle engine.

Sorry, SPL = sound pressure level. db = decibel

But a specific device manufacturer would know what the safe audio level would be for the headphones it includes with the device, right? Then, I would imagine most other headphones have relatively close frequency range. Just an educated guess.
 
If you don't like secondhand smoke, stay outside or visit establishments that are smoke-free by choice of owner.

That is just too damn hard! I mean really, they have to get up and leave? No, they want everyone else to bend their will, not doing what they feel is right for their own health and LEAVE.
 
I prefer Bach and Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn.

The cresendos in classical music make it more dangerous to listen to than rock/pop music that has been compressed digitally to have a similar decibel level throughout the song. Sudden spikes in SPL (cymbals crashing, etc.) ultimately are what really get you.

Here's an OSHA chart about exposure to SPL and what they recommend for maximum exposure per 8 hour work day:

Fig1ChurchSPL.jpg

Here's one from the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety:

Fig2ChurchSPL.jpg

109-dB peak sound pressure levels of a grand piano playing crescendos Soft to Loud: The Nature of Power and Dynamic Headroom

...you can see that NIOSH would want to limit exposure of the pianist to such SPL to less than 2 minutes per day. So too, if you want to play back classical music at concert levels, your overall exposure would reach occupational safe limits fairly quickly.
 
Ever hear of second hand smoke, Henrin ?
And its society's problem, just ask a deaf man....
Oh, almost forgot , you are a libertarian...
"freedom and liberty forever"

Ever hear of feet?
 
But a specific device manufacturer would know what the safe audio level would be for the headphones it includes with the device, right? Then, I would imagine most other headphones have relatively close frequency range. Just an educated guess.

I'm not an electrical nor an acoustics engineer, just a music and headphone geek that has picked up a little knowledge in my life, but something makes me suspect that you really can't limit headphone output to a level that would keep overall exposure below a certain SPL limit, I don't think you can make a circuit that smart. You would just have to do what is done now and keep output voltage below an arbitrary level that would guarantee most headphones being unable to render "loud" music.

Plus, like I said, it's the crescendos that get you. You would have to have a limiter that constantly "squashed" the peaks in volume in the music (whacks on the snare drum, crashes of cymbals, etc.), resulting in a music listening experience where the player was constantly lowering and raising the volume, making the experience unpleasant.
 
That is just too damn hard! I mean really, they have to get up and leave? No, they want everyone else to bend their will, not doing what they feel is right for their own health and LEAVE.

"Yes, I'm the manager. Can I help you?"

"This place is noisy and kids are everywhere, screaming at the top of their lungs, and the music is loud. My family came to enjoy a nice, quiet evening."

"I'm sorry, sir, but why did you decide to eat dinner at Chuck E. Cheese then?"
 
Excellent use of the taxpayer money.

Because their mothers/grandmothers didn't already tell them this at some point in their life.

For every person who "jokes" about going deaf listening to loud music....... guess what.... they are already "aware"

Yes, and we all know that every kid listens to the advice of their grandmas :roll:
 
No "like" from me.....at least we have a man who cares about people.....maybe too much???....better than too little...

I will absolutely never understand why the left even gives a f*ck. It is none of your d*mn business what music I like to hear and what car I like to drive, or how much sugar I like to put into my coffee, much less what ear buds I like to wear. Why must the left incessantly pursue their agenda to meddle in others business. The left needs to keep their nose in their own book, and they need to stop trying to protect people from themselves.
 
Okay, so I just read that it is being funded by some grant from the "Fund for Public Health" which allegedly raises funds through non-tax dollars.

But, regardless....... I think a grant from the "Fund for Public Health" could be better used on some other important topic.

I would not be surprised to learn that Bloomberg is the Funds' larget donor
 
Yes, and we all know that every kid listens to the advice of their grandmas :roll:

Because the government will surely get them to listen. :lamo
 
I'm not an electrical nor an acoustics engineer, just a music and headphone geek that has picked up a little knowledge in my life, but something makes me suspect that you really can't limit headphone output to a level that would keep overall exposure below a certain SPL limit, I don't think you can make a circuit that smart. You would just have to do what is done now and keep output voltage below an arbitrary level that would guarantee most headphones being unable to render "loud" music.

iIt would be a complicated circuit, but It coud be done. Two pblms I see are:

1) the differing frew spectrums of music - a pblm you identified. But circuits could do a primitive spectrum analysis to see if there is a large amt of high freq sounds in the signal

2) The efficiency of the speakers: Given a specific signal, two different speakers will output a different SPL. Any such circuit would need the ability to be adjusted (by the manufacturer) to compensate for the differences in speaker efficiency

Once you've done that, all you need to do is put a limiter on the signal. That would prevent the signal from going over a specific peak. However, adding a spectrum analyzer and a limiter would be expensive. If done cheaply, they would color the sound, most probably make it sound worse. Good limiters cost hundreds of dollars.

Plus, like I said, it's the crescendos that get you. You would have to have a limiter that constantly "squashed" the peaks in volume in the music (whacks on the snare drum, crashes of cymbals, etc.), resulting in a music listening experience where the player was constantly lowering and raising the volume, making the experience unpleasant.

The peaks in volume generally last in the range of milliseconds making it impossible to "ride gain" in order to compensate for the limiters actions. In addition, in this case the limiter would be put "post-gain" so increasing gain would only make the limiter engage more often without any effect on the max level.
 
The govt has run several public health pgms with great success

I can think of one and in that area parents weren't doing jack. You?
 
Ear buds are neither good nor bad. It depends on the user. I would imagine that most of the city workers who work in and under the streets of NYC experience enough sustained noise at 80dB or higher that probably the only way many of them can hear music is with a good set of ear buds. I'll guarantee you that at least 30% of the cops in NYC have hearing loss to the degree that it affects conversation.
 
OOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh Boy !
Are you ever an extremist.....I think a $100,000 fine and the loss of their precious noise makers should suffice...:mrgreen::2razz::2wave:

As much as I hate hearing other people's "music" I still would not allow regulation of the devices. I might be in favor of "quiet zones" around residential areas to keep the peace, but my 30 cal rifle with a muzzle brake is loud enough to ring your ears 50 feet or better away from it if you aren't wearing protection and I wouldn't want that to be limited either.
 
Having different laws in every state for common products is getting way out of hand. Not only custom motor fuel blends, soda container sizes, headphones, radar detectors and who knows what things are illegal now or "CA ONLY" spec, like motorcycles, lawn equipment and cars. Seems as if you may soon travel out of state and get arrested for having an illegal toothbrush. Stop the madness! We will soon need national laws to require these weird state laws are posted at all state lines. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but laws of the ignorant are popping up everywhere!

Good points, libertarian or no....
Our governments can get carried away and the people's protests must be heard.
 
Good thing we have the government to keep us safe from earbuds, baby formula and 7 year olds with Pop Tarts. :roll:
A conditional "like".
Sarcasm aside, On the baby formula, in the past, the sugar content has been too high...people MUST read labels and the info MUST be correct.
Pop Tarts are bad enough when new,,,the expiration dates are coded and hard to find and read. Rather than business designing the standards, the consumers should do this...much reform is necessary in this area..
As to earbuds , I don't know..
As far as I am concerned the idiots can play their so-called music as loud as they wish; but, 50 years down the road, I will NOT pay for their hearing aids !
 
Yes, and we all know that every kid listens to the advice of their grandmas :roll:

Making someone aware and making them act a certain way are two different things bub........

By now everyone is aware that smoking is bad.

Yet people still do it.

Because some people don't care about the negative side effects of things, or they are willing to take the risk of whether or not those side affects are going to hit them or not.



WTF Good is an awareness program for something everyone already knows?




Awareness Campaign: This is New York City reminding you.... beer will get you drunk! This has been a reminder from the City of New York!



**** New York.
 
Seat belts, helmets for motorcycles, drunk driving, tobacco use

1. Unlawful to not use one.
2. Unlawful to not use one.
3. Unlawful to do.
4. Not sure the government has anything to do with it..... and they are on the verge of banning cigarettes in many places with how many places you are NOT allowed to smoke.

So... what does that tell us about the future of ear buds in NYC?
 
1. Unlawful to not use one.
2. Unlawful to not use one.
3. Unlawful to do.
4. Not sure the government has anything to do with it..... and they are on the verge of banning cigarettes in many places with how many places you are NOT allowed to smoke.

So... what does that tell us about the future of ear buds in NYC?

The research has been done and all of those campaigns helped to increase awareness and saved lives
 
The research has been done and all of those campaigns helped to increase awareness and saved lives

Right....:lol:
 
I'd say get what's enjoyable, and of course, what's in the budget.

When I made my "step up" to better stuff, it wasn't to IEM, but rather to larger headphones. On the first point IEMs were much more expensive for my wee budget.
shure-e2c-n-sound-isolating-earphones-black.jpg


On the second point, I didn't like the feeling of the flanges going deep in my ear. Granted the sound was cool, but it just felt...not for me. Now, I spent about 50-60 bucks on some headphones from Sennheisier, going for the recommended starter cans (which at the time were the HD-497) but contemplated going with the Grado SR60. Either way, it was good stuff.

sennheiser_hd497.jpg


sr60i1.png


Of course, once I got started, I couldn't stop. And it got more expensive.

The Sennheiser HD-600 that was the second headphone I posted earlier in the thread...and these beauties. Paired with a full desktop headphone amplifier as well, naturally.

akg-k702-headphones-gear-patrol1.jpg

Nice! Thanks for the advice. I must say those look a lot more comfortable than ear buds. The ear buds fall out of my ears constantly anyway.
 
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