With the hood down in my convertible, if I turn up the stereo to a level that would be too loud when stationary, I can drown out road noise / wind roar and it doesn't feel painful on the ears. The question is, is this bad for hearing - I'd imagine yes, but I wonder because if the music is only 'as loud' or just louder than road noise, surely it can't do more harm (unless it would have to be significantly louder to drown out the road noise)
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Decibel level is the thing to worry about,but would imagine as speakers are not at, or close to ears you should be ok,wind noise though I would think more damaging than hi fi noise being difficult to drown out as you put it
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As you are, in effect, in the open air, there's no problem.
It's high sound levels using earphones/headphones or in a night club or similar environment that should be avoided.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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As my (now sadly deceased) best mate used to say: If it's too loud, you're too old
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not long after I bought a Caterham 7 I was reading as much as I could about them on the interweb.
One thing that stuck with me was the guy writing that when he asked the factory what radio was fitted as standard they just laughed.
After owning mine for a few weeks I took to wearing earplugs when driving it, was the only way to stop tinnitus.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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>>is this bad for hearing...
The short answer is that you probably aren't causing any more damage than is caused by the wind noise. This is largely a result of the odd way that signals measured in decibels add together - which in itself is a reflection of the non-linear response of the human ear.
The long answer needs lots more time and space than are available, but you would need to know the A weighted sound pressure level, and for how long you are exposed to it before you can begin even a rudimentary assessment of whether you are at risk of hearing damage. For a more in depth survey, you would consider taking an integrated measurement, where the sound pressure level over a whole day is recorded, weighted and summed up, to enable an equivalent "dose", or L_eq, to be estimated.
Number_Cruncher
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Is the wind noise harmful then? I just assumed that even though it was loud, it somehow didn't count or something as it was just wind. The thing that's got me is that if the car stops, the music is way too loud & hurts my ears, but on the move it seems OK.
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>>didn't count or something as it was just wind...
All sound is just a rapid fluctuation in or disturbance of air pressure, which travels along, your ears aren't sensitive to how the sound was generated, just the level and exposure.
To add further difficulty, we are talking about how you perceive the sound. There's lots of difficulty here - sounds with impulsive components (think gun-shots), sound with pure tones (think of a machine like a jet engine whining) are perceived as being louder than they really are, and more natural sounds are thought to be more quiet than they really are. The human perception of sound is truly a can of worms - one I'd rather not open!
>>hurts my ears
not an especially good sign if you really mean physical pain. It would suggest that earplugs to reduce the wind noise might be appropriate, as mentioned by another respondant above.
Number_Cruncher
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Use good headphones or similar. You can adjust the volume to your own requirements, the wind noise won't damage your hearing, and you won't appear to be a complete (?) forcing the entire neighbourhood you pass through to listen to your loud music, whether they like it or not.
Yes, wind noise is likely to damage your hearing. Motorcyclists have been aware of this foe some time. Anything over about 45MPH without ear protection of some sort may be a risk.
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One simple rule of thumb is that if you feel any after-effects once the noise has stopped (whether wind or radio), i.e. if you hear any residual roar, rumbling or ringing, then you have done damage.
V
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You might consider some Koss foam earphones, they work as well as earplugs to block out the wind noise and of course you can hear music through them too if you want. They're about £12 so not far off the cost of throwaway foam earplugs.
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Do you have a wind deflector for your car? If not get one and I think it may solve your problem. Dependent on what the car is of course.
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Surely one of the joys of driving an open car is to experience the wider world of wind, sun, birdsong, etc? So why spoil it by turning on a device that is much better suited to listening inside a padded tin box?
And in particular, why spoil it for other people who may not want to listen to your music?
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>>why spoil it for other people who may not want to listen to your music?
I was going to mention that but thought I`d better not,dont wish to start an argument ;)
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>>why spoil it for other people who may not want to listen to your music? I was going to mention that but thought I`d better not,dont wish to start an argument ;)
unlikely, if perleman is doing this on the motorway, which may alos explain how he is feeling a pain from the wind noise. see
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=53989&...f
Hard shoulder- closing convertible roof? - perleman
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unlikely if perleman is doing this on the motorway which may alos explain how he is feeling a pain from the wind noise. see www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=53989&...f Hard shoulder- closing convertible roof? - perleman
And I think I said there that top down on a motorway is not the finest motoring experience around. I think this just reinforces the idea.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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a mate had a Suzuki Cappuccino (now there's a crazy car) fitted his speakers behind the seats just below the level of the bodywork - there might have been a shelf there - as he had this very problem with the door speakers.
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Passed a Z4 this morning, top down, driver wearing industrial ear defenders (incorrectly).
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Aren't there some cars fitted with stereos that get louder the faster you go, to counter-act the road / engine noise? - although I may have imagined it!
On a similar but different tack, my old Celica used to have speed related air-conditioning: wind the windows down, and the faster you go, the cooler you get!
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Colin-E
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Aren't there some cars fitted with stereos that get louder the faster you go to counter-act the road / engine noise?
*Excellent* idea!
bump bump bump bump
Bump Bump Bump Bump
BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP
BUMP-BUMP-BUMP BUMP-BUMP-BUMP
CRASH!!!!!
(Chav cap and 4" diameter chromed exhaust tip roll in gutter)
(silence)
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Aren't there some cars fitted with stereos that get louder the faster you go, to counter-act the road / engine noise? - although I may have imagined it!
Philips used to make such a thing, back in the 80's. I suppose they arn't as necessary now steering wheel stereo controsl are amost the norm.
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My soft top has automatic level control for the stero unit. It kicks in at 60 mph and higher. I hate it but fortunately it can be deactivated.
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The old Honda Goldwing which I had did this.
Could hear music quite clearly at a ton.
(I would imagine, although of course I never went that quickly, officer).
Strangely, you could never hear the commentary / DJ / voiceovers /whatever, but the music was quite clear.
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I only listen to music like this on Mways - really not into drawing attention to myself in the neighbourhood, especially as mine is one of the cheapest cars here (there's a nice shiny new aston convertible parked in the street as I write).
You can't really win on that one as whatever car you have, if you drive around with the hood down & loud music on you look a plonker.
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And I think I said there that top down on a motorway is not the finest motoring experience around. ....... ----------------------------- TourVanManTM < Ex RF >
and yet perleman is happy to continue doing so, and listen to his music, as his reply [Wed 1 Aug 07 23:10] indicates:I only listen to music like this on Mways - really not into drawing attention to myself .....
oh well, it makes the world go round.
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