Hi there, Yeah, it's a tricky balance to maintain. When it's half empty, it's easy - I try to play it so it's loud enough to soak up and listen to, but not too loud to obscure conversation. When the back room is packed (like it was last night) it's a problem - The background noise makes it hard to judge how it's sounding throughout the whole room (especially from the DJ booth). I tend to try and walk around the room to hear how it's sounding, and think on the whole the volume level is about right for the room. There were a couple of large groups obviously having a lot of fun in the back room last night - To be expected in a night club, obviously. It's a pity it dulled your enjoyment of the music, though. I was aware of them, and tried to balance the music in response though. Kinda hard, as you rightly point out, when people raise their voices with the music anyway! To turn this constructive, do people feel that the ambience of the room plays a part in this? Is it too light, too open etc? Do you think the music getting played is having a part in this? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts! Ta!