| TVCA Audio Class #1 | 1. Capturing the Sound |
| The Nature of Sound | |
| Loudness | |
Table shows loudness of various voice,
instrument, and environmental sounds.
Note how distance affects loudness.
| Decibels | Music/Voice Sources | Environmental Sounds |
| 140 | Multi-engine fanjet aircraft (@ 50') | |
| 130 | 75-piece Orchestra (on stage) |
Boiler shop Pneumatic chipper (@ 15') |
| 120 | Rock Concert (in audience) |
Submarine Engine Room (full speed) |
| 110 | Piano (playing loud) BBb Tuba (close) Loud Radio |
Woodworking shop |
| 100 | Brass instrumemts (close or group) |
Subway car interior |
| 90 | Bus interior | |
| 80 | Auto interior | |
| 70 | Speech (@ 3') Vacuum (@ 10') Train (@ 100') |
|
| 60 | Speech (lapel mic) |
Freeway |
| 50 | TVCA studios (HVAC and external noise) |
Office or home |
| 40 | Quiet residential | |
| 30 | Soft whisper (@ 5') | |
| 20 | Soundproof studio | |
| 10 | ||
| 0 | Threshold of hearing |
Copyright © 1997 Richard Crowley