Listening to Music in the Car

When I was 18, I thought delivering pizza was the best job in the world. I was getting paid to drive around and rock out while listening to my favorite songs. The car was my perfect place to take in music.

What I didn’t know then was that there were several obstacles in the way of hearing what was intended to come out of my car speakers: the audible environment of my car, the layout of the speakers, and the volume at which I was listening to music.

Audible Environment

What’s in your vehicle plays a pivotal role in determining the way sounds are perceived by your ears and brain.

The very nature of sound is that it travels in waves through space - any boundaries such as windows, doors, seats, headrests; objects such as people, soda cans, books, umbrellas, etc; or escape routes such as open windows or doors are all going to affect the way you hear what is coming from your stereo system.

More objects means less room for sound to travel and more opportunities to be absorbed; escape routes decrease apparent loudness by eliminating reverberation.

Speaker Layout

Another important factor in the audible environment of your vehicle is its speaker layout. Most stock speakers are placed in spots optimal for design but not necessarily for the listening experience.

For example - in my car, the front speakers were originally put on the inside of the doors. When driving, my proximity to the left and right speakers was unbalanced; I was getting a lot more of the left speaker than the right speaker. (The solution to this problem is called ‘equal path length’, a speaker layout I will cover in a future entry.)

To compensate for the loss of what was happening on the right side of the stereo image, I’d either shift the balance to the right speaker (causing key elements of the left side to disappear), or turn the music up to make out what was happening on the right. This was doing more harm than I thought; my ears would ring upon leaving the car, which leads me to my next point - too loud is no good.

Loudness

Your vehicle is a small enclosed area that isn’t going to allow sound to reverberate through space. When loud noise comes at you in such an environment, you and your ears are going to be absorbing a lot of sonic energy. The ‘apparent loudness’ of what you’re hearing can be much greater than its actual decibel level because the sound waves have nowhere to go. This is extremely dangerous to your ears; sustained exposure to loud noises can permanently damage hearing.

--

The next time you take a drive, think about some of these things - how does music sound with the windows up, then down? Where exactly are your speakers? Does an empty car sound different than a full one?

And most importantly...are your ears ringing after you get done driving? If they are, turn down the volume! I wouldn’t want to spend a day on this earth without my hearing. This doesn't mean you have to refrain from blasting a song here or there - just be careful of what you're subjecting your ears to on a consistent basis.

What is Mass Appeal?

It's never been an easy thing to pinpoint, the ability to charm the masses through the medium of music. Why do millions upon millions of people fall in love with the music of Radiohead, or Counting Crows, or Pink Floyd, or the Rolling Stones? What did these bands do that other great bands 'couldn't' - how did they transcend multiple generations' tastes and preferences and appeal to such a huge demographic of music fans?

I quote the word 'couldn't' because I don't mean it as a slight to artists that have developed loyal followings through their artistic efforts. There are a ton of albums that I know hit me in a way that most people don't feel...yet I know I'm not alone in this feeling.

We gravitate towards sounds that we want to hear. But why do some sounds make more sense to more of us?

I don't have the answer. Actually, I don't think there is any way to pinpoint why something just takes off in popularity. Each of the four bands I mentioned in the opening paragraph is immensely popular for different reasons. And in each of their situations, it was probably a combination of several important events that enabled them to create work that transcended generational boundaries.

At any rate I think this is a great topic for discussion, because without a true answer it is only human nature to look for one.