Loud and the Audio Engineer
Invisible sound: event audio at an appropriate level, tone, and balance, such that the audience focuses on the performance, presentation, story, experience, and emotion without consciously noticing the sound level, tone, or balance.
Audio engineer beliefs on the appeal of 'loud':
The Sound
- Sounds 'better', clearer, more punchy and energetic.
- Lower volumes are perceived to have less 'life'.
- At higher SPL, the ear response curve flattens, making the audio sound 'better'.
- Despite perceptions that loud is better, maybe it doesn't have to be 'loud' to sound good.
The Physical
- Arouses and affects the body physically, more than just hearing mechanisms, particularly with low-frequencies.
- Helps to cause pleasurable sensations from natural bodily chemicals and processes.
- At higher SPLs, people can hear and feel the parts of music, particularly bass, that may not be heard on small portable and home devices.
- Time is perceived as passing quicker when the music is louder and faster.
The Connection
- Participants feel connected to the music, the artist, and others present.
- Creates an immersive event where listeners feel enveloped by the sound, providing an 'escape' to 'get lost' in or to feel part of something 'big'.
- Reduces distractions and helps people to focus on the music/event. For performers, high SPL ensures their sound is foremost in an audience's mind.
- Interactions between participants amidst loud sounds require people to be more energetic to be heard, adding to the 'vibe'.
- Drowns out the singing of attendees, and each can sing along without their own voice being heard.
- May be more appealing to particular groups, genres and ages.
- Triggers emotions.
- May have an addictive side.
There is an expectation for many live events to be at an SPL that would be considered 'loud'. Audio engineers indicate the expectation that an event is 'loud' is due:
- to traditional expectations of a high SPL 'standard',
- the 'Loudness War',
- without delays, large venues may require a high SPL at the stage to reach people listening further away,
- to lift SPL over the stage noise,
- to lift SPL over the crowd noise,
- to people being desensitised to high SPL,
- ignorance of the effects,
- to demands by performers, a manager or director,
- to an artist's or engineer's ego or insecurity,
- to peer pressure from other audio engineers,
- to maintain SPL continuity throughout the duration of an event or festival,
- to an engineer's desire to use the power available and to push the limits,
- to the perception that engineers that can handle louder audio power are seen as more skilled,
- the final act being the loudest act, and
- hearing impairment that may cause a desire for a louder sound to produce the desired neural stimulation.
‘Loud’ can be a subjective term and does not necessarily reflect a potentially damaging SPL. Audio engineers describe what they believe ‘loud’ may mean:
- the performance is louder than the sounds individuals hear in their everyday life,
- the lyrics cannot be heard over the music,
- attendees struggle to talk to each other over the performance,
- the style or content is not favourable,
- there are issues with the performer’s pitch, timing or rhythm,
- the listener has unrealistic expectations of the event sound,
- the SPL is not appropriate for a particular genre,
- the frequency content of the mix is not balanced.
- A well-balanced ‘mix’ may subjectively feel less 'loud' than a quieter and less balanced ‘mix’,
- the SPL may obscure or mask the listener's ability to hear and interpret all the intended sounds,
- compression or distortion artefacts fatigue the listener,
- there is a minimal dynamic variation where the ear can rest,
- one sound source cannot be heard over another,
- the room acoustic or stage sound bleed adversely affects the front-of-house mix,
- the quality of the equipment or the lack of system optimisation processes that has a detrimental effect on the sound quality,
- the listener was not in an ideal location with respect to the sound source and the PA,
- hearing damage has impacted the individual's perception. 'Loudness recruitment', may affect the listener's tolerance to increasing loudness over-proportionally. If the damage is in one ear only, the perceived loudness grows faster in the normal ear until the same perceived loudness in both, 39 44
- an audience member may mention the sound is too loud as a means of 'control', and
- "you can't please everyone".
SC - Audio Engineer / Sound Design - NASDA
I think I’ve done close to 3,000 shows with the guy (Rod Stewart), so we’re hoping we’re going to get it right sooner rather than later.
Lars Brogaard, FOH engineer