Introduction, and 'Relative SPL ranges of various desk tops

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mixsit
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Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:40 pm

Introduction, and 'Relative SPL ranges of various desk tops

Post by mixsit » Tue Aug 29, 2017 3:36 pm

Hi. :D
I've been one of the ones 'lurking out back in prep for, well a pair of new PC's actually.
30+ years home studio recording and musician, ect.
What I was hoping to get steered to and can't seem to find, is some general guide or scaling as a guide, to the range of computers SPL levels. In other words, for 'typical desk tops on the noisy end, down through quite -like the certified ones.
I would like to invest in a custom built 'quite' (or is that very quiet?) general purpose' desk top.
And another perhaps extremely quite, for a DAW recording/mix rig upgrade.

I guess right now I'm trying to get a handle on this audible scale' factor. For the DAW I'll likely want go as I have in the past with known DAW builders. I know (see) the real quiet (silient certifide) come with some added cost.
For a general purpose one, I was hoping going with a local shop might work out.
But here I come full circle -re; How quiet different rigs land. This is the only place I've seen that actually did (or posts) spec like that!

CA_Steve
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Re: Introduction, and 'Relative SPL ranges of various desk t

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Aug 29, 2017 8:10 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

There's a lot of variance on what's considered quiet or inaudible or silent. Depends on the user, the use case, etc.. As well as the quality of the testing lab...if your lab can only measure down to 30dB(A), then it's down to subjective measurements as every quiet setup will show 30dB. You really have to get down in the sub-20dB range to measure some of the differences.

That said, in a completely silent room, the best hearing can discern 0dB. Realistically, anything under 10dB is inaudible under most conditions. Under 20dB is considered very quiet (by SPCR standards). So, aim for 10dB or less for the DAW and then whatever you want to pay to get for the desktop.

Suggestions for the DAW include a setup that has zero fans operating while live mic recording...or at most, a slow spinning CPU cooler fan as audio recording just doesn't use much cpu horsepower. So, passive or semipassive PSU, case fans that can be stopped via motherboard BIOS control while recording, zero speed gfx card fans for 2D operation, all SSDs for OS/apps/scratch space...and if you need large data storage, an HDD that will only be used for this and will spin down during recording.

What's your country? If you are looking for retailers to build something, we can perhaps direct you somewhere.

mixsit
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2017 2:40 pm

Re: Introduction, and 'Relative SPL ranges of various desk t

Post by mixsit » Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:57 pm

First I thank you for your reply, and I apologize for taking so long getting back.
It took some time to realize I'm not even sure how to ask and/or what I might have expected for an answer for what I was seeking.
I.e., if my assumption is correct and (almost?) 'no one measures or even puts this in as a 'spec, we're left it seems with things like, "a quiet" or "our quietest" [insert brand] "work stations".
Clearly it may make it a nearly useless question to pose to builders.

My next step I expect will be to speak to some of these vendors. You have quite a range in your list here that will make a great starting point. From there I can approach a few of the DAW builders.
Perhaps from there I can be more comfortable deciding if to try to use the local shop for the general purpose one.

I'm in the US, home not purpose built recording BTW regarding my noise floor. I've had three custom DAW's from a good builder over the years. Each made improvements there. This last.. 'quite quiet' :>)
(I can't believe how many times I miss-typed that word in the first post!

CA_Steve
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Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Introduction, and 'Relative SPL ranges of various desk t

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Sep 05, 2017 8:37 am

If you are in the US, I recommend looking at Puget Systems. They are pretty consistant with their designs and have been SPCR tested/reviewed in the past. They may have an off the shelf or custom solution that would fit your needs.

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