Music & Acoustics

Basic

Perceived Loudness Doubling

A 10 dB increase is heard as roughly twice as loud.

Formula

\Delta L = 10\,\text{dB}

Variables

\Delta LLevel change (dB)

Example

60 dB to 70 dB ≈ twice as loud

Did You Know?

Perceived loudness follows a power law — our ears compress an enormous range of intensities into a comfortable scale.

music loudness perception

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