Originally Posted by
schmidj
-23 will play back with very low level on a consumer system, that setting was intended for professional systems which always incorporated more "headroom" than consumers. Others here recommended setting to -18, which I felt was conservative, but allows for extra dynamic range beyond most consumer product. I now read recently that one of the standards organizations recommends -14 for consumer use, a little louder than -18, but a little less dynamic range. Setting the number too high (-23 instead of -18 or -14) in consumer equipment will often leave you unable to play it at a reasonable listening level, even with the "volume" turned up all the way. You will also get "blasted" if you change the source to the CD or DVD player or a radio station.