|
By Nik Edser
It is very common for a venue to have a decibel limit in place to keep the
noise down to the desired level. This is sometimes a personal decision, but
more often than not a legal stipulation which the venue must obide by. Low
decibel limits can make it difficult for DJs and musicians, but it is imporant
to remember that often the venue don't like it either. They are just doing
what they are told!
It's not uncommon for someone to book a venue and be notified of the decibel
limit, which they are fine with. Unfortunately, these numbers of the limit
doesn't mean much to the average person. We hope to be able to arm you with
a basic understanding of decibles and what the various levels look like with
this article.
Decibels is how the volume of sound is measured. Decibel is written in abbreviated
form as dB. Decibels are generally measured using a decibel reader about 2
meters from the speaker by pointing the reader toward the speaker. It is very
important to understand that decibels are not measured on a linear graph but
an exponential curve. This might sound confusing, but it's quite simple to
grasp when you see a decibel graph.
Most people tend to think of decibels being similar to a home sound system.
Let's suppose a home sound systems volume goes from 0 - 100, most people if
told the music has to be no louder than 80dB would think of the sound system
type control and assume it's going to be pretty loud but not all the way up
to 100. Wrong! This is because when you compare to a volume control, you are
thinking linear and not exponentially.
Here's the kicker... 80dB is not (as you would expect) 20% quiter than 100dB
but around 400% quieter! So this would be the same as turning your familiar
home stereo system down from full to about 1/4. At a recent event, we had an
85dB noise limit up until 10pm and then the noise limit was restricted to 65dB
after 10pm. In this instance, it is so quite that music might as well not be
playing at all and is totally lost under the sound of the audience.
Here is a list of common sounds for you to help get a better understanding
of how loud things are. Remember when using this guide and applying it to your
own event to factor in crowd noise. So whilst a hand dryer is listed at 80dB
and you remember when you are in a toilet using one it does seem quite loud,
think about how loud that same hand dryer would sound if put into the venue
across the other side of the room and guests all talking at the same time.
It wouldn't be heard very well at all.
- 60dB Air conditioning unit at 100 feet away (Half as loud as 70dB)
- 70dB Vacuum cleaner
- 80dB Garbage disposal unit (Twice as loud as 70dB)
- 90dB Motorbike from 25
feet away (Four times louder than 70dB)
|
