Is it my imagination, my ears or it is the speakers?

[audiojunky]

So, I'm sitting and listening to my 2 channel setup at a very moderate volume (volume level = 30 on a Krell 400 Xi integrated amp)

I'm using B&W 804s speakers

Initially I feel that this level is extremely low and it would be more enjoyable listening at a slightly higher volume, but I resist turning the volume knob.

5-10 minutes go by and all of a sudden, I feel that the music has taken over the room and is extremely enjoyable at this rather moderate level. I don't have the urge to increase the volume any further and now all of a sudden this volume level seems just right.

So my question is, did my ears get used to listening to music at this moderate level or did the speakers "open-up"?

How could it be that at one moment I felt that the volume was way too low to enjoy the music and a few minutes later, the volume level felt just right?

[Kal Rubinson]

No. Your brain has the capacity, almost the necessity, to adapt to the signals.

Kal

[jim777]

That is normal, it happens very often when I lower the volume when it's getting late..

It is especially true if you were exposed to loud sounds (like playing your system louder) before trying to listen at lower volume.

[Audiophiliac]

Its like night vision. It gets dark...you cant see right away. 15-20 minutes later, and you can actually see. Or speed blindness. Like when you come off the freeway and slow from 90 to 35 and you feel like you are barely moving....but after awhile, you get used to it.

[Kal Rubinson]

Its like night vision. It gets dark...you cant see right away. 15-20 minutes later, and you can actually see. Or speed blindness. Like when you come off the freeway and slow from 90 to 35 and you feel like you are barely moving....but after awhile, you get used to it.

Different mechanisms but they all come down to the same thing: adaptation. The former (visual adaptation) is due to the time it takes to regenerate enough visual pigment in the rod photoreceptors in the retina and this serves to widen the dynamic range of the system. The latter (velocity perception) is probably a central process since the sensory receptors are not adapting. As such, it is likely much more akin to the original topic of adapting to volume levels.

Kal

[ChrisssB]

Its your ears and your speakers!
All the above is true but I think there’s one more factor in the equation: the quality of your system. A good system gives you everything: micro and macro dynamics, clarity, details, image etc… so the better a system is, the need for hi volume is minimized.
We all had at a time entry level systems … remember? We had to pump up the volume so to clearly hear everything (and still missed a lot)!

[Aussie Geoff]

Race Car Driver,

IMO the speakers are also helping, in that the new 800 series is one of the most articulate at low volumes that I know... They are uncanily revelaing at low volumes, so that once your ears adjust they are quite statisfiying. Many "lessor" speakers (even in B&W's lower end) sound more muffled at lower volumes, usually due to physical reasons like small non linearities in the speaker voice coils resulting in small cone movements being non lienar etc...

As others have posted - your ears need to adjust first to appreciate all the low volume detail...

The good news is this same low volume detail also helps make the fine nuances of music at normal volumes sound so good...

Basicallt they are high resolution speakers..

Geoff