Quality of sound and volume

have become crucial factors for me. Going to a movie theater has become a rare(r) experience for me and I think the main reason for that is my lack of volume control. Sometimes it’s not too loud but it’s always too loud.

I know this makes me sound old but I suppose I run on the “Music is too damn loud” platform. I went to my first “rock” concert last summer and I had to leave because it was literally too loud for my brain to comprehend the input and the presence of air was continually in my ear. The music did sound great though, from the parking lot.

I’m not forbidding loudness but I will offer this PSA. Too much loudness may cause deafness so you shouldn’t smoke a pack a day. By the way, you should not be using those in-ear headphones. Normal headphones vibrate air, which vibrate your ear drums, which the brain processes as sound. But in-ear headphones physically vibrate your ear drums and causes far more damage. So just be aware and mindful of what goes into your ears (you shouldn’t eat too much candy either).

In fact, I try to find my lowest comfortable volume when I’m listening to anything. It might just be me but I perceive the sound quality and enjoy the sound design better when I do this. If I don’t enjoy a film’s score/music selections it’s no big deal but if a film has bad sound design it is unwatchable (and the best films always have superior sound design).