Thanks. To be honest, I find output levels for home theater much easier to understand than for music. Assuming calibrated systems and capable gear, if I watch a movie at -15 on my system, then watch it at -15 on a friend's system, I should be exeriencing virtually the same output levels. Assuming the movie wasn't recorded hot, I would also expect the potential for each speaker to hit 90db levels and the LFE channel to hit 100db levels....factor in the redirected bass that goes to the sub as well, and the sub may be asked to reproduce ~105db levels on its own. This is because a calibrated master volume level of 0 equates to the potential for each speaker channel to hit 105db peaks and the LFE channel to hit 115db peaks. You simply adjust from there.
When it comes to music, I really don't know if there is a standard or reference level. I don't know what the dynamic range is for PCM, DVD-A, SACD, or other music formats. Differences in compression/dynamic range vary WILDLY from cd to cd.
But anyway, getting back to the sub, if it's capable of 112db+ levels above tuning, that means you should be able to listen to movies on a calibrated system up to a master volume level of about -8 (that's pretty loud
). Of course there are hot movie tracks every now and then (War of the Worlds DTS), but by and large, I've found I typically listen at the same master volume for every movie.