Every sound engineer has been there: guidelines, neighbour complaints, and ringing ears all swirling in your head. Here’s the straight dope.
Stick to WHO Safe Listening Levels
The World Health Organization’s “Safe Listening Environments” guidance is the gold standard:
- A-weighted equivalent level (L<sub>Aeq,30 min</sub>): around 99 dB over the loudest 30 minutes of the show.
- C-weighted peak level (L<sub>Cpeak</sub>): do not exceed 130 dB to prevent immediate hearing damage.
Logging your SPL carefully is essential. That log is your proof that you stayed within recommended safe limits, even if someone claims their ears are ringing after a night out. Most likely, the ringing came from somewhere else entirely.
SPL logging Isn’t Magical Protection — But It’s Evidence
An SPL log doesn’t stop someone’s ears from ringing if they’ve been overexposed elsewhere. What it does do is show you acted responsibly and followed best practice, protecting you professionally and legally.
Practical Tip
Use reliable SPL logging tools (Smaart v9 or similar) to capture your data. What matters is a clear, timestamped recordshowing compliance with the WHO-recommended limits. This is your shield when complaints come flying.
Bottom line: log your SPL, stick to WHO safe listening levels, and remember — safe listening is about evidence and protection, not magic guarantees against every ringing ear in town.
Smaart is excellent on its own, but most users find they get much more out of it after some structured training. That’s where our seminars come in. At TZ Audio we run practical seminars, both online and in-venue. We offer seminar-only or full “all you need packages” including software & hardware. It’s simply the fastest way to become comfortable and confident with the measuring a sound system.
If you’re in Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Iceland – or elsewhere – we offer is online seminars and traveling to Norway is a valid option too of course. We’re here if you have any questions about the software or upcoming seminars.
Thanks for reading!