It's worth talking about what is really going on in my 85 dBC Sound Pressure Level mixdown situation. When I set up the control room (in 2006), I send pink noise to one loudspeaker through the stereo mix bus, so that -14 dBFS Leq is showing on one channel meter. I then adjust the level of the monitor master so that the speaker generates an 85 dBC Sound Pressure Level at my listening position. This means that the actual -14 dBFS average mix level for each speaker is going to be 85 dBC Sound Pressure Level and ca. 90 dBC in stereo (depending on how phase-coherent the control room is). During mixing these days, peak levels usually are at between -20 dBFS and 0 dBFS, with highest average levels usually not much greater than -3 dBFS. This translates to a working range of about 12 decibels for pop music, between 90 and 103 dBC Sound Pressure Levels. Time spent examining individual tracks results in listening levels between 85 and 92 dBC Sound Pressure Level. Note that the 103 dBC peak level will translate to about 87 dBA Leq. Interesting, eh? Does your head hurt yet?

Keep in mind that these levels are not continuous. They only exist while the tape is rolling (or the hard disk is spinning), which is generally about 30% of the time in a productive mix session (much less in either tracking or overdubbing sessions). The rest of the time, silence (well, maybe conversation at 65 dBC Sound Pressure Level) is the main sonic component.

The reason I talk about this is that the safety concern about Sound Pressure Level is based on time-at-level, so that when the good folks from OSHA measure the levels in a room, they do it (as I've already noted, but it's worth repeating) over time and come up with an average level over time (called equivalent level or Leq) that is the basis for assessing the amount of risk of hearing damage. In my mixdown situation, that Leq is probably about 70 to 75 dBA Sound Pressure Level at worst, maybe as low as 65 dBA.

It is interesting to me, and it is probably relevant to you, that this level is irritatingly loud for most of my students, that I find it tiring and too loud for extended listening (I seldom listen at home at this level) and that it is well within the safety limits prescribed by OSHA. This means that unless your studio levels are truly crazed, you probably aren't working at dangerous levels.

The same isn't true for concert sound, in either the arena or the club. If you work there as well, you've got to watch your levels much more carefully. Also, there are some tricks to help you with socially responsible levels while not really doing anything to dim your reputation as the baddest dude to ever push a fader past 11. A detailed discussion of these belongs in another article, for another day.