In my post yesterday, I clumsily attempted to apply a few concepts I learned from Amir and other experts. I apologize for any errors or misunderstanding on my part. One error which I must correct is the analogy I offered in comparing measurements in dB SPL versus dB(A) with comparing prices expressed in dollars versus units from a different currency. This is incorrect, as they are not convertible. The "A-weighting" method weights the levels of sounds with different frequencies in relation to how sensitive the human ear is to them. It is a method of converting sound pressure levels to perceived loudness. By the way, I am considering continuous or RMS signals here, not peak levels. A 100 dB SPL sound in the low bass may be perceived as equally loud as a 60 dB SPL sound at 1400 Hz, and either might measure at about 60 dB(A). Thus, if listening to music which simultaneously includes low bass "L Max" ( highest RMS) of 100 dB SPL and midrange L Max of 60 dB SPL, my sound meter will display the highest level it detected which is 100 dB SPL. But if it is set to measure dB(A), it may display 60 dB(A). I assume that playing the same piece of music, but without a woofer, might now measure at 60 dB SPL and 60 dB(A). So it is not possible to reconstruct the original spectrum of a music signal, nor convert the dB(A) measurements to dB SPL. The upshot is that if I simply say that I measured "100 dB SPL at my listening position", that does not tell you much about how "loud" it sounded. For that, you'd need to have some idea of the spectrum of the music I was listening to and the SPL of the numerous signals of each frequency. On this website you can view graphic displays of music with the SPL on the y-axis, and frequency on the x-axis, revealing at a glance without needing any math that most of the energy of a music signal is found in the lower frequencies, gradually sloping down in the midrange and lower yet in the higher frequencies. Amir commented that this should not surprise us, given the relative size differences between woofers, mid-range drivers and tweeters, and the correspondingly smaller amounts of air moved by those smaller drivers. Notice that there is typically a 40-50 db SPL discrepancy between the lower bass and the midrange region. Again I know I am not using calibrated precision equipment, but it is entertaining for me to attempt to reproduce a similarly loud and hopefully similarly pleasant sounding illusion in my home, compared with the real thing.