I have my bass on -3 and treble on +2 and listen to The Crystal Method on max volume all the time with no distortion.

I have a 10" OG Solo Baric and 2 Focal tweeters in the doors.

 

For a more scientific table from OSHA, http://www.oshrc.gov/decisions/html_1989/80-2848.html

Sound level dBA
Duration per day, hours slow response
8.................90
6.................92
4.................95
3.................97
2................100
1 1/2............102
1................105
1/2..............110
1/4 or less.......115

115 dBA is pretty loud but the volume number on the display isn't really that good of an indication of how loud the music really is. Some of my older CD's are quiter at 33 than some other CDs at 25. (BTW, each click on the volume **** from 20 to MAX (34) is 1 dB so the difference between 20 and 34 is 14 dB. That's a good amount but not enough to make you instantly deaf.

Also the 115 is probably conservative coming from OSHA. I have heard 120 dBA being OK for short periods of time (<1 hour) from other sources but I dont remember which one specifically.

For decent meter, I would go to Radio Shack and try one of theirs. They work pretty well and I tested them to be fairly accurate.

The important thing to keep in mind is dosage. There isn't a hard number where you will get instant hearing damage. It is always XdBA for N hours that recomendations are based on.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

i've had mine at 30+ and it's fine. Dont be such wimps, they are warrantied...