As a former (and somewhat reformed) audiophile, I read a lot about this early on and did everything I could not to expose my ears to crazy volumes. I like my music loud in the car, but I know, not for very long. I’ve been to concerts where my ears rang for a day or so and made up my mind not to let it happen again. Started taking ear plugs.
I had a friend that had a good local band years ago (many, when I was in college and a few years after). They invited me over to jam with the band one night. They had a full band set up in a 14x18 living room. Full drum kit, bass player had this big tall 8x10 cab, guitar player (my friend) had a full Marshall stack, and the vocalist had (had to have!) a PA with 4’ tall speakers. I walked in while they were playing and immediately turned and RAN from the CRUSHING volume. I’ll never forget it... the first time the drummer hit the cymbals I cringed and immediately jumped back out the door. I knew then, there is no way I can jam with these guys. I had a Twin, and MXR Distorion + and could have competed volume wise, but the only time I turned that amp up to even 5 was in a 100’ x 200’ church.
That guy is still a friend. He was a commercial airline pilot for years, but 10 years ago he finally got to the place where even with hearing aids (which he had been wearing since he was 35!) he couldn’t hear well enough and he lost his job. After a few years he found a job in his field where he worked on the ground and with computers, so he didn’t have to hear well to do his job. His hearing is almost completely gone and with hearing aids he manages to get through life. The last time I saw him was at church, and I played that night. He came up to me afterwards and said “I’d like to tell you that you sounded great, but I really couldn’t hear it well enough to say.” I felt so bad for him... he sold off all his stuff and only has one acoustic. He LOVES music and he LIVED it for years, but he can’t hear well enough to even enjoy it anymore. And he will tell you point blank, that he destroyed his ears with all that high volume playing. Very sad. A guy who love it so much, but wasn’t careful enough with his hearing.
The moral of this longwinded story... I don’t care HOW holy grail it sounds, I’m not destroying my hearing. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and I see the effects it had on his life. I don’t even WANT to know what it would be like to not be able to enjoy listing to music, much less playing it! I will play a modeler before I give away something I’ve worked my whole life to protect.
Now, that said, the Custom 50 is not STUPID loud like that in a band situation. It’s only in a confined room that it can saturate the acoustic space, and your ears.
Anyone else notice how the old PRS demos, they said that the cab was in another room (basement, I think)? If you can do that, crank the thing and roll with it. If you can’t, protect the hearing you have. And maybe, get a Power Station II.