The rule where you play, the correction value and the protocol
Audience level rules per country (DIN 15905-5, V-NISSG, WHO, NL, FR, VLAREM, HSE), the correction value with pink noise, the indicative level monitor, and a show protocol with the DIN 15905-5 Annex D fields.
The audience rule
Audience — the rule where you play on the SPL tab summarises the rule for your country. It starts from your language (German → DIN 15905-5, French → the French décret, Dutch → the covenant, otherwise WHO); pick another any time — the choice is saved with the venue.
| Rule | Limit and averaging |
|---|---|
| DIN 15905-5:2022-07 (Germany) | 99 dB(A) LAeq over each 30-minute block from :00 and :30; LCpeak 135 dB(C). Inform the audience above 85, offer hearing protection above 95. A standard, binding through the permit. |
| V-NISSG (Switzerland) | 100 dB(A) over every 60-minute window; LAFmax 125 dB(A). Above 93: report 14 days ahead, inform, free earplugs, monitor; above 96 for more than 3 h: record LAeq every 5 minutes and a rest zone. Keep records 6 months. No meter class required — add your meter's uncertainty. |
| WHO (2022) | 100 dB LAeq over a moving 15 minutes; LCpeak 140 dB(C); 94 for children. Guidance. |
| Netherlands | 103 dB(A) over 15 minutes — a voluntary covenant. |
| France | 102 dB(A) and 118 dB(C) over 15 minutes, recording and a display at the desk. Law. |
| Flanders (VLAREM) | 100 dB(A) over 60 minutes (from a secondary source). |
| UK (HSE) | Event LAeq ≤ 107 dB and 140 dB(C) peak — guidance; no statutory audience limit. |
Each summary names its source and the date it was written. Rules change — the original text and your permit decide. Print audience notice (A4) prints a notice with the expected level and where earplugs are.
The correction value
You rarely measure where the audience is loudest; you measure at FOH. The correction value is the difference between the two, found with pink noise through the PA. On the Level tab:
- Play pink noise from this device (into the desk) or play it from the desk.
- At the loudest audience place: Measure here (15 s).
- At the measuring place (FOH): Measure here (15 s).
- K1 is the A-weighted difference; K2 the C-weighted (LCeq) difference — the method the 2022 edition of DIN 15905-5 allows; check the standard.
A difference cancels most of a microphone's own error — keep the same device and gain for both. Peaks cannot be measured with a built-in microphone.
The level monitor
Level monitor logs the A- and C-weighted level once a second and shows:
- LAeq 1 s — now;
- the value your rule is judged on — the running 30-minute block (DIN), the last 15 or 60 minutes (WHO, NL, FR, CH);
- a second number: for DIN the projection to the end of the block if the last minute's level holds, for France the LCeq, for Switzerland the highest hourly level so far;
- 5-minute rows.
Before you trust a number, calibrate: let the monitor run next to a real meter, type what that meter shows, press Calibrate to it. Tick Add the correction value to see the estimate at the loudest place. Warnings say when the browser kept its voice processing on, when the input is near full scale, and gaps show where capture stopped (a locked phone). The screen stays on while it runs where the browser allows it.
The monitor is indicative. A browser with a phone or laptop microphone is not a class 1 / 2 meter; built-in microphones clip above about 115 dB SPL. Switzerland's V-NISSG is the one rule that lets an organiser monitor without a meter class — adding the meter's uncertainty. Everywhere else, a formal record needs a class 2 meter.
The show protocol
Show protocol is a template with the fields DIN 15905-5 (Annex D) and V-NISSG ask for: organiser, who measured, event, sound engineer, PA and layout, meter and calibrator, calibration result, reference and measuring place, the correction values and how they were found.
- Use the monitor's log — or Import a meter log: a CSV / TXT export from your class meter with a time column and an LAeq column (LCeq if present); tab, semicolon or comma, ISO or German dates, decimal commas.
- The protocol shows the assessment periods of your rule (DIN: each 30-minute block against 99 dB(A)), the 5-minute rows and any gaps.
- Print protocol (A4) prints it with a signature line and a SHA-256 hash of the record, so a later change to the numbers shows.
- Save to my account keeps it (the last 30); Open brings one back.
The sheet names its source — RoomSense monitor (indicative) or the imported file. A template, not a certificate.
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