"Why must I turn it down when I have not exceeded 80dB?"… An exhibition-booth Audio control manual, through CEATEC

At a major B2B exhibition where hundreds of companies announce new products, noise is one of the hardest variables to handle. When a neighbouring booth’s spectacular speakers disrupt an important buyer meeting, invisible audio wars break out across the venue. Japan’s IT exhibition CEATEC 2025 limited booth volume to 80dB or below, while explicitly establishing a strong rule allowing adjustments to be demanded even within the limit if complaints arise nearby.

For practical planners, noise management is not simply walking around with a Sound Level Meter and recording numbers. True Back-end audio control means understanding the gap between rental suppliers’ Console readings and the noise visitors experience, then carefully designing mediation Rule-sets that go beyond mechanical numbers to protect the business environment.

1. Decouple measurement reference points: look at the boundary, not the Console

An audio operator stationed in a booth can easily argue that the rules have been met while the mixing Console’s volume meter stays green, in its safe range.

• Clarify the physical measurement position: CEATEC’s use of a point 2 m from the booth boundary as the measurement reference is highly practical. What matters is the sound where a neighbouring booth’s buyer stands, not directly in front of a speaker or at the audio desk. To prevent disputes, the planning team must hand over clear criteria for which device, location and time to measure, rather than leaving only a decibel number in the procurement order and exhibitor manual.

2. Control qualitative risks: numbers cannot capture every discomfort

Even if the meter shows 79dB and passes the rule, complaints from surrounding booths can surge.

• Frequency and interference: low readings do not prevent strong, chest-thumping bass or piercing high frequencies from completely drowning out the presenter next door. This is why CEATEC included a clause requiring improvement when unpleasant sound causes complaints, even if the numbers comply. The organiser must specify discretion in the rules to assess qualitative conditions, including sound character and clashing demonstration schedules, and direct lower volume or changed speaker orientation without being bound by numbers alone.

3. R&R and Hard Stop rules: can the sound be stopped immediately?

The most difficult situation is a surge of neighbouring complaints with no one in the booth authorized to turn the sound down.

• Assign responsibility to on-site staff: if a rental supplier installs equipment and leaves, no one is there to lower the volume Knob in an emergency. Require an audio operations supervisor to remain in the booth, and require Sign-off sharing emergency contacts with the organiser’s central desk when that person is absent.
• An immediate emergency-cutoff protocol: each booth’s sound must be Muted immediately when venue-wide emergency announcements such as fire alarms are broadcast. Alongside provisions such as CEATEC’s ban on audio use the following morning after three accumulated warnings, exhibitor contracts must include a physical Hard Stop allowing forced power and sound cutoffs for refusing the on-site manager’s improvement instructions, making effective sanctions possible.

4. A four-stage protocol for exhibition-booth audio management

To minimize audio interference and create a comfortable business environment, the planning team must follow these four-stage criteria.

A planner’s note: a good exhibition is completed through harmonious decibels

Spectacular video and overwhelming sound are powerful tools for attracting visitors to a booth. But the moment volume is raised fully for one booth’s success, the entire exhibition becomes a noise-pollution zone where business is impossible.

Excellent event planning shines in delicately balancing volume so exhibitors can show themselves to the fullest without drowning out one another’s voices. The organiser’s noise meter is not simply a yardstick for policing exhibitors. It is the planner’s most dependable shield for protecting a safe business space where hundreds of companies can negotiate and converse comfortably.