In our town we had the homecoming dances last night, so I went to a couple of them to check out the sound. The first had multiple systems around the stage. I knew the DJ and tried to speak to him but the level was hurting my head.
Soon felt it was time to go to the next show. Got the same terrible level there.
Those levels have to be in excess of OSHA standards.
My hearing still seems to be disturbed. Is this something you can get used to or does it destroy your hearing to a point that it begins to sound normal?

I was the house DJ at a club for five years where the sound system was very loud. I played their twice a week & did get use to it after a while. As for it affecting my hearing I know it did, but I seem to have gained a bunch back since I stopped working their & got the L1's. Now I can't stand to hear sound systems that are extremely loud. My mobile rig use to be 10,000 watts RMS (for my larger shows), now I just laugh when I think of those days. Never again will I haul those big cabs around & hurt others ears as I Blair music with thousands of watts aimed at peoples heads. I feel so enlighten & liberated now that I use exclusively Bose. Plus my clients & their ears love it too.

As an unenlightened teenager I loved it LOUD! Now I can not and will not endure painful SPL at all. The L1 systems are so far ahead of the death ray horn systems it isn't even funny but still makes you laugh. An electro-acoustic ego trip = pain, suffering, and permanent hearing damage.

Here's one other thing that I've noticed since I've started using the L1's, people stay longer. People that I think would have left pretty much as soon as I started with my old rig stay an hour or longer because I'm no longer offending them with my "loud music". I get allot more complements on the sound & way less "can you please turn it down". This overall makes for good business.

Loud music? I'll be going to the KISS concert in two weeks and expect to have a hearing loss for a week or so. I've seen them five times and it is quite loud.

But yes, I have heard other DJ's and bands play with traditional speakers and they do crank them beyond a comfortable decibel level.

Tinnitus is one result of being exposed to loud music or firearms. I have been exposed to both far too often and suffer from tinnitus. My ears are ringing, to one degree or an other, all the time.

Use earplugs, tissue or cotton if you must endure high levels of sound. Even at that, you can damage the ear if the sound is loud enough.

Unlike some L1 users, I normally place mine in front of me or further off to the side. This makes it more difficult for me to gauge the level and dynamics of the sound but I find my ears are not ringing so much the following day.

LouD,

I also have tinnitis and a 30% hearing loss, thanks to "live fire" exercises when i was in tanks in the Army. I do get a VA disability check every month due to the loss of hearing and constant ringing in my ears.

I also place my L1's directly in front of my table and sandwich the B1's in between them. Because of my hearing loss, I do ask guests sitting at various tables if the music level is comfortable or too loud.

Hearing loss can not be reversed. I'm pretty sure those of you thinking your hearing "came back" may find you just got used to the loss.

I've been DJing in bars, clubs and mobile for over 20 years. I went to a Lionel Richie concert a couple of years ago and sat quite far back, near "centre field" and in a great spot as far as the line array was concerned. It was that night that I had to decide - was I slightly deaf in one ear, or had they got the left/right balance wrong on a multi million $$ international concert rig?

(and just to keep the Bose people happy - here's where I make this a Bose related post LOL) I have my L1 to the side of me and just slightly behind. I find if it's too far forward, I can't judge the volume, and it's incredibly hard to beat mix too. BUT - I did the same with my old conventional dual 15" cabinets and it was louder, tiresome, and nowhere near as pleasant. The L1 up close at that angle is amazing, doesn't leave my ear feeling over worked.

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Originally posted by Ron Ralph:
Loud music? I'll be going to the KISS concert in two weeks and expect to have a hearing loss for a week or so.

Ron, please, please, wear some sort of hearing protection if you attend this or any other loud concert.
If you have hearing loss for any length of time, one hour or one week, it makes no difference, you will have some PERMANENT damage.
Do not do that to yourself or rather do not let anyone else do that to you. Once it has gone you will never get it back.

I like great sounding music. I love that my system can provide great sound and not have to be obnoxiously loud.

The sad part, is that I never thought about the hearing damage years ago, playing Bass through 4 15" Lansing speakers. You could feel the sound pressure coming in the doorway of the club. The 122 Leslie speakers were screaming as loud as they could go. Wow!! We thought it was great back then. I never thought about ear plugs. Why block all that great sound and the rush of being immersed in it.

About 12 years ago I got (through a friend) some great close mid row tickets for "Elton John/Billy Joel" concert at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. As we left, my ears were ringing so hard, I think I could have worked as a baggage unload-er at the airport, without ear protectors and not heard anything. Concert volumes are way out of control.

After a recent hearing test, many frequencies are down more than I would like. Luckily I don't have tinnitus, but I believe I have to mentally compensate when I record and try to get a good mix.

As they say, "If I thought I were going to live this long, I would have taken a lot better care of my body", hearing definitely included.

Hi. Went to see an Eagles tribute band with a traditional system in a small venue of 150 people. These guys were great but the sound was so loud I have to wear ear plugs and even then it was loud. I am no sound expert but I did have an IPhone SPL meter which went from 70 at normal conversation levels to over 110 during the concert. This can't be a good thing!Brian

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I am no sound expert but I did have an IPhone SPL meter which went from 70 at normal conversation levels to over 110 during the concert.

I use an SPL Meter during my shows and 70-76 DB is the normal restaurant conversation levels. At my Mic stand, I try to keep it around 78 to 86 DB, with occasional peaks hitting 88-89. That seems to work out quite well, depending on the venue.

On a somewhat related note, I just did an outdoor gig today where a DJ with a traditional system was set up next to me, I was using a Model II w/2 B1's (we weren't playing at the same time, though!).

While I was setting up, the volume was loud enough BEHIND the speakers, where I was, to be very annoying, slightly painful, and definitely too loud to carry on a conversation.

When I started, I didn't have time to play with the EQ on my Bose, and had to go with it as is. Not the best sound to my ears, but fairly good. Slightly louder than I usually run it, but not too bad. I did have the owner signal me as I was speaking (not singing/playing), that I needed to be louder, although she was a good, I don't know, 50 yards away (I'm not that great at estimating distances). I was about 7' in front of the Bose, and I turned it up a notch at the master, but not much. I guess there is a limit to what a single Bose can do outdoors...

I guess I can understand why the DJ/announcer had his PA up so loud, I'm sure the sound was fairly decent at the other end of the venue area, but locally it was painful.

Not sure what my point is, actually (LOL), just some observations. I think if I could have been a little farther from the L1, I might have been able to turn up a bit, but I wouldn't have wanted to endure much more volume from my L1.

Lots of compliments, by the way. It just wasn't "wonderful" at the other end of a huge parking lot...oh well!

I think the question Tres is could you have been any louder with your old PA. When I am faced with these situations I always think back and realize I wouldn't be any louder with the old PA. I have started on these rare jobs to set the Bose up more like conventional PA. It alway's amazes me the sound that comes from the sides and even slightly behind.

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I think if I could have been a little farther from the L1, I might have been able to turn up a bit, but I wouldn't have wanted to endure much more volume from my L1.

I did a ABC Wine Tasting store a few months back and had my L1 directly behind me. My SPL meter showed 92 DB and it felt very loud. As I got down and walked and sang a bit further away, it was not all that loud in the Isles. Just slightly annoying up on the very little stage (4 X 8 Plywood on wine cases).

At the Poolside gig, I have to put my L1, in front of me on the Veranda, otherwise it is way too loud for the tables sitting to the sides of me. I usually bring a 10" powered speaker on a stick to run off the master, behind me so that I can monitor well. I run the L1 between 78-86 db most of the day, with the SPL on my mic stand shelf.

What did you guys just say?
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Speaking of loud,
One of my DJ's relatives got married on this past Saturday. He used a L1 compact to provide Cocktail and Dinner music. About 140 people there total.
I was a mostly outside place...small room that could hold about 50 people...but the one side completely opens up to the outside. So most were outside.
The groom's father plays in a band. The band played music after dinner. He said it was so loud and obnoxious that most people left within the first half hour after they started playing.

It's a private place with the hall and about 50 cottages. My DJ's family has a cottage about 100 feet away and they said they couldn't stand it from their cottage so they went to the bar in town and most people from the wedding were there. They would rather go pay for alcohol than listen to the band and drink for free.