HOW LOUD (or low) SHOULD THE SOUND BE

OK, let’s start by addressing a technical issues of sound,  Sound pressure level (SPL) or sound level is a logarithmic measure of the effective sound pressure of a sound relative to a reference value, SPL meters measure the sound volume much like a thermostat measures room temperature.   The chart below is the OSHA Sound Exposure Regulations chart. Simply put it lets you know how long you can listen to music at a specific volume before it may damage your hearing.  

So, this would be a reasonable assumption and one I follow; the sound in church should not exceed OSHA regulations.

With that said let me say this, the question of how loud or low the sound should be in church is highly subjective, that is, it comes down to individual preference. 

I am not writing a book on sound reinforcement in this post so posting OSHA is about as technical as I am going to get. What I do  want to share with you is at what volume I like the sound and why.     

I like the music at a volume that moves me, the band and the congregation.  I’ll cut to the chase; I like the SPL at 97 with peaks of 102 or so.  That is kind of loud for some but not loud enough for others.  Believe it or not I do get comments that the music is too low.  OK, so how can I justify this volume level…

Saddleback church in California has 22,000 members. So I think it’s safe to say they are doing something right.   Here is an excerpt from an article By Rick Muchow, Pastor of Magnification at Saddleback Church:  “When leading worship, the leader must worship! Don't direct. Certain cues for the band or congregation might be needed to keep things together, but it is great when the crowd's focus leaves the platform and is caught up in the moment experiencing God's presence. Likewise, ask your worship team to smile genuinely and avoid bringing attention to the platform. Start on time and use appropriate volume (loud but not too loud). At Saddleback our dB level ranges from 98dB to 108dB (every 3 dB doubles the volume level). Saddleback Seekers don't just want to hear the music they want to feel the music.”  I love Bethel church in Redding California, they are a mighty force in the Kingdome and have worship conferences constantly.  They often run their sound so loud that I feel my chest thumping from the sub woofers. 

My iphone has an app to measure SPL and while at Bethel this past year I turned it on during worship, it ran off the meter at 110 db. 

Another justification for running the sound on the high side is this observation that I have made.  Large growing churches run their sound loud, smaller churches with dwindling populations run their sound low.