Why is the noise level at the squares evening music so extremely high?
 

People are using ear plugs or just staying away because of the overly loud music at the squares. What can we do to lower the volume before lots of folks lose some more of their hearing? Who is in charge of this?

Thanks for opinions and information.

I am new to the villages but in my short time here have not found the music to be overly loud by any means. I like it.

I would prefer they turn the volume up so I can hear the music over those gabbing behind me. Have rarely felt that the volume was loud enough, never found it too loud.

I think you'll find that you're in the minority on this one.

OP many are wearing iPods, or earbuds connected to phones. But have to say if someone is wearing ear plugs you may be confusing them with earbuds.

Earplugs would be mostly in ear, or at least the multiple ones I have come across are. There are noise canceling headphones by Bose. Very effective, our youngest highly recommends them to those in a spectrum range to control loud noise.

Noise levels are a personal issue, only a few times a year does a poster find the bands too loud. I find the crowds and personal conversations sometimes can overwhelm the music. But it’s a personal thing

Sit further away from the source

I often have the same sentiment about the sound power levels. Seems that when some bands are matched with certain sound technicians the combination is unbearable. When I feel that the sound is too loud I have taken measurements and found that they have been over 100dB even sitting near the back row of the seating area. But what’s worse is when you see the technician trying to make adjustments while the band plays and makes the bass so dominant that I cannot make out the words to the song because the singers are drowned out. This is not just my complaints but also comes from my wife and guests that we’ve taken to the square. And this happens at Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter and Brownwood.

Quite possibly the sound technicians are hearing impaired.

Sounds a bit like having a semi blind surgeon operating.

Very often people come and don't stop gabbing. Recently asked 2 females in front of me to lower it and one said I hadn't seen my friend for many years. Asked her why she doesn't go elsewhere to talk but it was all about them.

I'm with you. I go for the music and to dance. I don't understand why people go and just sit there and talk. Go somewhere else. Some bands are too loud but most are not.

There was a lot of audio drops with the vocal microphones last night at Brownwood. Never saw the soundman in the crowd adjusting things with the IPad. The new Fancy Reagan was not as good as the old Fancy Reagan.

I have also been stuck next to people that want to talk through the whole song, it's very annoying to those who want to listen to music.
Please, if this is you, keep it down, or go elsewhere to talk.

How new is the new Fancy Reagan? I saw them a couple of months ago and thought they were good, have they changed since then?

I've always wondered about the iPad sound control. It seems like it is fine for initially setting things up but it seems slow to make changes. I've attributed that to having to find the right screen to make an adjustment rather than just reaching for a knob on a sound board. I primarily notice it when a song starts and a different singer takes the lead. Often times there is no voice audio for the first few seconds while, I imagine, the correct screen is found on the iPad and the necessary adjustments are made.

I remember bumper stickers back in the 70s that said, "If it's too loud, you're too old". At the time I thought yeah, that's about right. Of course, now I resemble that remark.

Also, I hope the previous poster meant gabbing instead of grabbing. Both of which can be annoying.

There's another reason besides inconsiderate people talking over the music (and if you can hear them over the music, I'd suggest the music isn't really as loud as you think it is)...

It's also the WVLS radio coming out of the BOSE speakers that are planted ALL AROUND the squares - both within the squares planted in the ground, and the ones on the light-poles. WVLS chooses not to lower the volume when there's a performance going on. The conflicting noise is disorienting when you're walking from your parking space a block away, and approaching the square. Once you get to the square, your brain has already registered the sound of the radio, and it doesn't QUITE go away until you're sitting around the stage or on the dance floor.