Bogen's chart gives supermarkets two entries of its own: "Supermarket" in the 65-75 dB band ("must raise voice to be heard") and "Supermarket (Peak Time)" one full band up at 75-85 dB ("speech is difficult to hear") — the chart's only entry with a time qualifier. The store changes character by the hour, so the system is planned for the loud case, zoned so music yields to paging, and licensed like the retail space it is — not like a restaurant.
Figures on this page were checked September 2026. Bogen chart statements were extracted from the PDF's text layer with coordinates; paging-priority guidance is a system-design description, labeled where the chart ends.
The two-entry chart
Most venues in this series get one row on Bogen's sound-pressure chart. Supermarkets get two — and one of the two is the chart's only time-qualified entry. The pair is the whole planning story:
| Chart entry | Band | Speech at that level | Source / as of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supermarket | 65-75 dB ("Medium Noise") | "must raise voice to be heard" | Bogen chart, 2026-09-24 |
| Supermarket (Peak Time) | 75-85 dB ("High Noise") | "speech is difficult to hear" | Bogen chart, 2026-09-24 |
A full band separates ordinary hours from peak trading. That is the guide's own acknowledgment that a grocery store is not one acoustic place: the floor at Tuesday morning and the floor at Saturday 5 pm differ by ten documented decibels. The system-planning consequence is simple and non-negotiable — coverage is designed for the peak entry, and the quiet entry becomes the easy case. Speakers sized for the morning store will under-serve the Saturday store precisely when announcements and checkout-line management matter most.
The distributed-ceiling math from the guide — first speaker one ceiling-height from the wall, subsequent spacing at twice ceiling height — fills the long aisles; the peak-time band tells you how much level headroom the zones need above the music's idle setting.
Paging over music
A supermarket's sound system has two jobs that share hardware: program music at the band levels above, and announcements that have to cut through regardless of hour. The design goal is priority: paging events override or duck the music feed so the announcement carries, then the program resumes.
The chart documents the ambient problem; the override behavior is a system capability to specify rather than something the guide's math hands you. What the math does hand you is the floor: an announcement system planned for the "Supermarket" entry will struggle at "Supermarket (Peak Time)" — so the paging chain inherits the peak-time design too, not just the music zones.
Zoning follows the store's operating map rather than the ceiling grid alone: sales floor aisles take the coverage math above; checkout fronts need announcements to land cleanly at peak; back-of-house runs quieter still. The multi-zone guide covers the general wiring; a single-source, receiver-per-zone pattern keeps music zones independent while the paging layer sits on top.
Retail, not food service
The licensing frame is the one place a supermarket must not copy a restaurant's paperwork. Section 110(5)'s special allowance for food-service and drinking establishments — the branch our restaurant playbook documents — does not describe a grocery. A supermarket sits in the general tiers: under 2,000 gross square feet (excluding customer parking) a store qualifies with no loudspeaker limit; at or above that threshold, six loudspeakers total with no more than four in any room — and those tiers cover only radio and television broadcasts. The part that decides most modern plans follows: recorded or streamed music requires licensing regardless of store size. The in-store playlist is a licensing line item, not an exemption.
This is also where a supermarket differs from our retail playbook in spirit: same licensing branch, but the store's scale, hours and peak swing make the two-band coverage question the dominant design decision, where a department store's chart row never changes by hour.
Bogen printed both rows so planners wouldn't have to choose blind: the store is a 65-75 dB room that becomes a 75-85 dB room on schedule. Design the coverage and the paging chain for the second row, and the first row takes care of itself.
FAQ
Bogen's chart lists it twice: "Supermarket" in the 65-75 dB band — "must raise voice to be heard" — and "Supermarket (Peak Time)" in the 75-85 dB band, where "speech is difficult to hear." Peak trading hours move the store up a full band.
Because coverage math that works at 65-75 dB undershoots the peak. The documented two-entry structure is the guide's own acknowledgment that the store swings a full band; speakers placed for the quiet store leave the peak-time floor under-covered, which is exactly when announcements matter most.
Yes as a design goal: page events override or duck the music so announcements carry. The published chart math frames the ambient problem; the override behavior is a system feature to specify — music feeds the store, paging takes priority on top.
No — and the difference matters. Section 110(5)'s special food-service branch does not fit a grocery; the general tiers apply — below 2,000 gross square feet (excluding customer parking) no equipment limit; at or above it, six loudspeakers total with no more than four in any one room — and those tiers cover only radio and television broadcasts. Recorded or streamed music requires licensing either way.
blafili R1 Bluetooth Receiver
An RCA output that feeds the in-store amp from any phone or tablet. Set the playlist once and let the zones carry the day.
- Bogen Communications, System Design Guide, sound-pressure-levels chart (printed page 77): "Supermarket (Peak Time)" listed in the 75-85 dB band ("speech is difficult to hear", tier "Very Noisy"); "Supermarket" listed in the 65-75 dB band ("must raise voice to be heard", tier "Noisy"); ceiling-speaker layout rules. bogen.com/sites/default/files/2021-02/SysDsgn.pdf, accessed 2026-09-24 (text extracted with per-character coordinates)
- 17 U.S.C. § 110(5), general-establishment branch: exemption for establishments under 2,000 gross sq ft (excluding customer parking) with no loudspeaker limit, or at/above that threshold up to six loudspeakers (no more than four in any one interior space), limited to broadcasts of FCC-licensed radio and television stations; food-service branch not applicable to grocery retail; recorded and streamed music requires licensing. law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/110, accessed 2026-09-24
- blafili published product specifications (R1: RCA output), per lab PROFILE caliber table, accessed 2026-09-24