MECA, IASCA & ICE Club Judges - A question

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » June 29th, 2012, 11:49 am

Judges...

I would like to know what volume level you judge at. Is there a specific listening level (decibel) you use or do you use the maximum level the equipment can go up to before it distorts.... or do you judge at your personal comfortable listening level?

Also is linearity checked for IASCA solely based on the linearity tracks or do you vary the volume up and down and listen for linearity? How is it done with MECA and ICE?

Thanks

nigel1977 · Postby **nigel1977** » June 29th, 2012, 12:01 pm

At the ICE club, we don't score linearity. (Yet)

I judge at my own personal comfortable listening level.

Sully · Postby **Sully** » June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm

IASCA: 90db ref on the RTA track for judging. The volume is readjusted for the Linearity test.

silent_riot · Postby **silent_riot** » June 29th, 2012, 1:59 pm

nigel1977 wrote:At the ICE club, we don't score linearity. (Yet)

I judge at my own personal comfortable listening level.

^x2.

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » June 29th, 2012, 6:26 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys...

SQ Audio · Postby **SQ Audio** » July 1st, 2012, 12:11 pm

The lower linearity level is at normal conversation/ listening level (80- 90db). The higher level is at approx 95- 115 db. This is mostly averaged.

Brian Steele · Postby **Brian Steele** » July 1st, 2012, 12:40 pm

SQ Audio wrote:The lower linearity level is at normal conversation/ listening level (80- 90db). The higher level is at approx 95- 115 db. This is mostly averaged.

Conversational level is actually quite a bit lower than that. Around 20~30dB lower. See http://www.dspguide.com/ch22/1.htm

SQ Audio · Postby **SQ Audio** » July 1st, 2012, 2:47 pm

conversation with a person with a big mouth!

Its not typically measured but its a range. Notice its from 60 - 90 db. The judge will normally use his discretion across the board. No need to bounce around with figures.

Sully · Postby **Sully** » July 2nd, 2012, 6:41 am

Linearity level setting (and RTA) needs to consider ambient noise when setting. Usually IASCA SQ events in Trinidad are in a quiet environment, so 90db is the reference volume. In noisier situation (e.g. SBN) that level needed to be bumped up a bit.

SQ Audio · Postby **SQ Audio** » July 2nd, 2012, 3:49 pm

good ting sq wasnt done in princes town...dey was rell bakanal!

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » July 2nd, 2012, 9:49 pm

Thanks for the responses guys....

I noticed that different competition judges use different listening levels. I really don't see the value in listening at very loud levels (as done by some judges) since I personally cannot enjoy music at that level anyway and I am sure most SQ enthusiasts also.

So far the ICE judging seems on par with my preferred listening level...

This info is useful since I am trying tuning with a dynamic EQ to compensate for non-linearity at very low and very high levels....

silent_riot · Postby **silent_riot** » July 3rd, 2012, 10:52 am

The loudness feature on pioneer decks is a good idea, but doesn't serve the purpose for competitions. Their loudness correction is tied into the actual volume control level (x out of 62), and not the actual playback level (-ydB). So if a track is played at a constant volume control level, but at different recorded levels, the loudness feature becomes useless.