Michael: Do you think focus on youth groups and modern, full-bandwidth PA in the Sunday main church service is disrespectful to elderly members of the church?

Tim: In all honesty, Michael, no. I don't think it is. I know that is not what is intended
by most contemporary worship programs, and I would begin to question the motivation
behind people that would make claims that it is disrespectful. Contemporary worship
(i.e. loud music) is an effort by some people to worship in a style and manner that
they find exciting and stimulating to their faith.

eric: What do you see as the key components of any "good" sound system?

Tim: There are several components I would say are key. Although they are certainly
not limited to this. You must start with good microphones. Garbage in, garbage out.
If your mixing board is a piece of junk, you can try all day and never get the sound you want. You've got to have solid amps, and your speakers are reproducing all of your sound, so you can't skimp there! If part of your system is poor, the overall quality will, of course, suffer. But those are certainly the "hubs" of a good system.

jeffrey: How do you insure quality throughout the system?

Tim: Well, there are ways to test individual components, but I've found that experience really is the best teacher. You have to select high-quality components and make sure that they are matched well to each other for the particular application. If you don't know, it is critical to make sure you get in touch with the people who are qualified and knowledgeable.

Scott R (getting back to our earlier thread): Tim, we have gone through a lot of this in the last year… At what levels, dB-wise, do you notice people "finding it" too loud?

Tim: Good question Scott. I truly wish it were simply as easy as saying that 93 dB is the cut-off point. In my experience I have found several variables that must be factored to make an accurate decision.

Tim (continued): The first is what style of music is played. If you’re playing rock ‘n roll,
people are going to typically find it louder than organ music-even if both are at 95 db. The second, and perhaps more crucial, factor is how loud are the people singing? A cranking worship team with a congregation singing in full voice can easily run upwards of 100dB, and no one complains because everybody is into it.

Tim (continued): Conversely, if no one is singing, everyone is simply thinking how loud the music is, even if it is only 95 db or so. You also have to take into account the acoustics of the room. It may sound kind of funny, but some rooms really do "sound louder" than other rooms. What I mean is you can have your dB meter in hand and register at 97 dB in one room and it is great, and in another it seems to feel painful.

yam4000vca: My response to church groups for which I have designed systems is to ask what loud means in comparison. Louder than you listen to your car radio, but not loud in the sense of contemporary music? How do you handle this question?