Volume levels in Cinemas nowadays...

[jpaul]

agree about not visiting cinema due to excessive noise ...

was in the news last week ... reading associated article
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/13/cinema-noise-levels-ruining-films-joker-hugh-grant

begs the question on whether sound at cinemas is faithful to producers release or has been further compressed, raising average level, or, as suggested, just distorted.

Dolby, the leading sound system, has traditionally set the “fader”, or volume control, at number seven, although some rival systems calibrate levels differently. This standard setting is the equivalent of 85 decibels, a level regarded as safe to hear over two or three hours.
But according to the association’s spokeswoman, Nic Wray, the best medical advice now suggests a level closer to 80 decibels is safer. “And for every three-decibel rise in the level, you should really halve the time of exposure,” she told the Observer

Both the size of the room and the size of the audience alter the experience of sound, leading some film fans to suggest that large cinema chains are failing to suit the noise level to the acoustic in smaller screening rooms. The deliberate technical “compression” of the noise on a soundtrack also causes issues for people with impaired hearing. Other customers grumble that the common advice to report any discomfort to ushers presents a challenge when staff are sparse on the ground.


A spokesperson for Dolby said that all sound system formats should comply with industry standards, but that each cinema should still “integrate and calibrate” its settings.

“While a scene may be perceived as loud, these are brief moments and well within the industry standards. An area that can be confused with loudness is when we feel discomfort: this could be loudness or distortion. Distortion is when a sound system was not appropriate for the size of room it is installed in and at peaks causes distortion, which is objectionable to a listener.”

https://medcraveonline.com/JOENTR/JOENTR-11-00420.pdf