Streaming services vary so much in level that volume settings mislead listeners.

Evidence

Our impression of loudness has another surprising feature: if the sound energy in a sine tone or noise in a narrow band of frequencies is spread instead over a wide band of frequencies, it seems much louder, even though it has the same power. For example, a 60 dB band of noise 210 Hz wide centered at 1400 Hz sounds about as loud as 50 dB white noise. Again the concept of a critical bandwidth comes in, here called the critical bandwidth for loudness. Even a sine tone activates a region of the cochlea, rather than a single spot, as one might have expected from a simple resonator theory. Nearby sine waves, within the bandwidth activated by a single one, are just adding to the same band on the cochlea. But using a frequency outside the band activates a new area of the cochlea, making the sound seem louder. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2008 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Widening a sound’s bandwidth makes it seem louder at equal total power — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2008; Movies reach audiences through many mismatched sound systems, breaking the calibration loop

Related

• Movies reach audiences through many mismatched sound systems, breaking the calibration loop (similarity 0.84)
• Widening a sound’s bandwidth makes it seem louder at equal total power (similarity 0.81)
• Wider bandwidth increases perceived loudness at equal sound pressure (similarity 0.79)
• Wideband sounds are louder than narrowband sounds at equal dB SPL (similarity 0.79)
• A sound’s bandwidth independently affects how loud it sounds. (similarity 0.78)
• Raising a sound’s loudness shifts its perceived pitch except near 1-2 kHz. (similarity 0.78)
• Loudness is not reducible to sound pressure level or signal power (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Movies reach audiences through many mismatched sound systems, breaking the calibration loop #exemplifies (0.85)
• Widening a sound’s bandwidth makes it seem louder at equal total power #expands (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2008