I would agree with Karen and with Jeff. But there are some people setting up PA with an idea that ear height is right.

English ceilidh bands often strike me as too loud too.

And complaining to the PA man doesn't always bring a result.

Take care of your hearing. When you have tinnitus or hearing loss it's too late.

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2016 7:35 PM

Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] PA system volume, addressing concerns

Karen wrote:
> directly in front of the speakers at the top of the hall, which are positioned at ear height.

That's very low for speakers, and sounds like it's contributing. The
ideal position for speakers at a dance is very high and angled down.
This means you don't have some people two feet away from the cone of
the speaker while others are fifty feet away. For example, at our
dance we have speakers on the stage (3.5ft) on top of tall stands
(9.5ft). Is there a way to get the speakers up higher at your dance?

(This is probably not the whole problem, though.)

Jeff

PS: we use http://www.ultimatesupport.com/products/speaker-lighting-stands/original-series/ts-88b.html
stands