You’re too old? You’re too close to the speakers? You’re too picky?? I see a lot of churches that have SPL limits for their services. In the touring world, we call this a speed limit. What is safe? What is too loud? What do the numbers mean? There are so many factors to consider before enforcing a speed limit at your church.

The most common complaint any audio engineer hears is, “It’s too loud.” When I hear that, I don’t reach for the master fader, I start asking questions. How close are you to the stage? Why is it too loud? It’s amazing that some people will try to meet a friend at a show, stand up close to the stage, then say it’s too loud because they can’t have a conversation while a rock band plays 20 feet in front of them.

In a church setting though, “It’s too loud” usually always means the exact same thing…