The Matter of Loudness

In my old apartment, in my old city, it was not exactly quiet, especially in the evening hours, let's say from 8 pm, when everyone has sat comfortably from the TV, it is always very loud with me in the old house.

In the past, I have repeatedly reported on how difficult it is sometimes to find some peace in your own four walls at certain times and that is, is not exactly quiet with me.

Now you could have said okay you have a few aquarium and the pumps or the air pumps also produce a certain noise level but if this noise level is a quiet hum, you can neglect it.

When I talk about noise I mainly mean loud sound from the TV and this was often given, actually every evening the good thing was that this noise was at the latest at 11 pm sometimes at zero o'clock.

What a huge difference it makes now to live in the new apartment, although I live in the middle of a big city and many more people are around me, it is quieter here with others.

If I do a noise measurement here with the windows open at 8 pm, I only get 20 to 25 decibels, this is normal, but in the old apartment I had a minimum level of 55 with the window closed and a maximum level of 75 decibels this is already perceived as loud or very loud depending on the frequency.

What was it, because that's a noise? It was the sound from the TV that roared improbably loudly in my apartment, yes, it was so loud that I could not tell from which room it came or from which direction it came.

Now you can say okay you make your own TV, your own music a little louder then you no longer hear it, that would be quite normal with a normal use but, if you like me to deal with the creation of content or videos or audio material this is very disturbing and annoying when you were ever increased by the heavy traffic in front of the house the noise anyway and I often had to dodge on the evening hours to have a little more peace for the recordings.

Now in the new apartment situation it is really great, I can take when and where my shots be it living room in the kitchen or even in the bedroom and everywhere it is quieter what a huge difference.

It's almost like I enjoy creating my stuff when I want it and not having to pay attention to when my neighbors are quiet.

One could now argue that my measurement method with a simple app and a measured microphone is not necessarily the best method to measure a standardized sound level, but it shows how different the loudness is in the apartment, because the difference is noticeable and measurable, even if these values are not exactly representative because the microphones in connection with the app are not calibrated.

For me, however, this example is not about having the most accurate and reproducible result possible, but only about clarifying the difference and this method is more than sufficient for that.

This is already possible with a simple mobile phone, as everyone carries with them today, since it is not important that the measured value is accurate, but only illustrates whether something is quiet or loud or whether there is a difference.

For me, at any rate, it is a huge enrichment of my creative work and the creative from life that I now have a quieter environment and I can do and leave when and where I want it and not have to use a disabled computer, which is created by the loudness of my neighbors.

If you have already had similar experiences or how do you go with such a thing, write it in the comments, I would be very happy to hear from you.

Your Sasha

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