computer sounds are way too loud
i have my pc volume set to 50% and still consistently need to turn the master volume for every new game i buy down to 50%, or at least 75%, just so it stops causing physical pain in my ears
Yeah there's a lot of variables for audio depending on peoples setups, but having the volume default to 100% is not the correct thing for applications to do, ever.
What is the correct thing to do?
Defaulting to 50% volume would be a good start, might be too quiet for some, might still be too loud for others. But at least it's not guaranteed to blow most peoples ears out.
Implementing proper logarithmic volume controls and defaulting them to -20 dB(FS) would be great. But the math involved is slightly more complicated* than the simplistic "multiply everything with a coefficient between 0 and 1" so devs won't bother (if they even know about logarithmic volume controls at all).
*I did logarithmic volume slider in Jscript for foobar2000 using a Jscript GUI plugin and it was not too difficult, but not straightforward either. Getting the button states and scaling to work correctly was more difficult and I never solved some annoying bugs. That was the first and the only "programming" I've ever done in my life.
Hmm, shouldn't that be a driver level task?
No, it isn't. OS and app volume controls are not implemented on driver level, but in each application individually, or you wouldn't be able to change OS volume and in-app volume independent of each other. It's simple math, multiplying audio sample values with a coefficient, best done in 32 bit floating point.
The question is not whether to do the math at driver level or in the userspace. The question is: if the user sets their volume slider to the middle, what value that coefficient should be? Most apps use simple linear correlation (middle point halves values which is 6 dB of attenuation or -6 dB(FS)) which is not how human hearing works. Log volume control would have the middle point at, eg, -40 dB(FS) and zero point at -80 dB(FS), giving psychoacoustically useful range in both halves of the bar. This is how analog volume controls on amplifiers work (not exactly so, but pretty close).
Driver level volume control can be done, but then you'd need to open your sound card control app and set it there. It would be an addition to OS and app volume controls. It would not be tied to OS or in-app volume controls or affected by standard multimedia keys on your keyboard. And if you decide to do OS volume control at driver level, in-app volume controls would still need to exist and be at the mercy of the app devs competency at implementing it.
Yeah, that all makes sense.
I think most people's setup is windows at 100% and control the volume directly on the headset.
Noise cancelling headphones give me tinnitus but it's totally worth it to live without noise.
You'd take no crowd noises over a constant ringing no matter how silent everything else gets?
Please take me tinnitus
I don't hear any ringing when I wear the headphones, it's only quiet times that it's noticeable. My motivation is largely due to ADHD, I'm more sensitive to noise than average and it's a major source of distraction for me. Open offices in particular are horrible for productivity. Driving is also way less fatiguing without road noise.
Then our experiences in life have been different
The feeling of being removed from a noisy environment is quite blissful. Like slaking a thirst, it's immediately satisfying.
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
rule #1: be kind