TWO questions, please help.

1) I've been having distortion problems.

I had an 5.1 Ultra system hooked up to a Terratec 7.1 Aureon Space sound card. I play my music at full volume, but I leave my equalizer even and decibel levels to 0db. Then I noticed the rear left and rear right surround speakers' tweeters had given out. I attributed the problem to the sound card's Sensura 3D mode that must be activated for 5.1 playback.
So, I bought the Creative X-FI Xtreme Music card AND 5 new sattelite speakers. Everything seemed fine, I had played it at full volume for a total of 20 hours (5 hours on 4 seperate occasions) with 5 minute breaks every 30 minutes. Then on the 6th occasion I began to notice only the the right and rear right speakers had lost their tweeters, or at least the highs were absent; and the right rear speaker would give off an annoying reverberation on a heavy midrange sound. The lefts were unaffected. The centre was unremarkable.

I'm confused as to what the problem is. Is it simply because I am turning the volume to the ceiling? I don't mess around with any other settings to get a boost in volume, and it had taken 20 hours before I began to hear a problem. What could it be? I'm not going to buy a new speaker set, I guess I'm going to save my money for now and buy a proper amp and speaker equipment, but I'd still like to know what the problem is. Is it due to a poorly designed system? i.e. the speakers cannot handle the amps MAX wattage for extended periods?

2) I had the 2.1 Klipsch promedia system hooked up in conjunction with the 5.1s on my 7.1 card, and I turned them up full-throtle as well. I understand it's not the greatest for my ears, but I felt no pain; and I'm still looking to add a small set of bookshelfs along with a reciever to get a little more volume. I don't know, I drink beer while playing music, I get over ambitious with the volume and crave the extra punch. I used to experience slight ringing right after listening, and other peoples voices would be mulled for 20 minutes afterwards; but I think my ears were just reacting to the distorted speakers, which can be extremely bad for one's ears at high volume.

So, the question is, can listening to music with a 115db rated system cause hearing damage during a 4-5 hour listening period WITH 5 minute breaks every 30 minutes? I added a 100-watt subwoofer and a 2.1 multimedia system rated at 106db that I turn to up to 60%, but I've disconnected the 2.1s because my new sound card doesn't have the input. So, anyone think this is very conducive to serious ear damage?

I didn't organize these questions well, but you guys are smart and always help, so I know you'll be able to understand

You've basicly made this a very easy post to answer.

-The small speakers CAN NOT sustain the power continously to reach the SPLs to which you refer.

-115 dB is dangerous in full range sound, even in much shorter time durations(>15 minutes is dangerous!) than you have specified. (Though, I doubt that you have achieved 115dB with a small computer speaker, even sitting just 2' from the units). But in the time durations you specify(5 hours), the SPL at the listening position should be <92dB if you are interested in hearing safety.

Please refer to this excellent FAQ:

http://www.digital-recordings.com/publ/pubear.html

Here are the United States OSHA limits for safety:

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.sh...table=STANDARDS

-Chris

Thank You.
You've corroborated my vague speculations. Once again a successful visit to Hydrogen Audio. Time to make a donation!

For the UK, employers must provide hearing protection at 85dB (8-hour time-weighted average - TWA) and must enforce the wearing of it at 95dB (TWA) - enough said...

Little bit crazy expectations/demands! If not your system, surely your hearing ability will deteriorate and thereby set future limitations for your hobby. From my own experience, and as an “hifi neard”, I know how it is to suddenly become over sensitive to noise. At a beginning it was a little bit “traumatic” when I suddenly could’t hear all the fine nuances in my music (my hifi eq not sheap…) and listening sessions at high and moderate volume levels was not longer possible, because of the physic pain it caused. Nowadays I must be very careful and concerned of environmental noises, not because of the pain it can cause, but also because my tinnitus even can get worse…

What is safe and not concerning decibel levels should only be concerned as guide lines. I have always been concerned of the risks involving listening at high volumes. I always turned down the volume when it became unpleasant. It’s a kind of roulette that decides who get tinnitus and not. Many factors such as stress, tiredness and previous exposure to high decibel might be of significance.