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Totally this. Acoustics in bars and restaurants has gone completely to shit. Even if they don't turn the music up too loud, it can be extremely hard to have a conversation without shouting, even if the place isn't crowded. I understand the need to not have people linger at a popular spot, but there has to be a better way then to make the place actively unpleasant to be in.

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It's also a kind of prisoner's dilemma or positive feedback loop, even without music: people in crowded bars talk loudly (especially with alcohol) which requires people nearby to talk louder to be heard, then it gets even louder and so on.

In my experience that's mostly a function of how good the acoustics are. In a place with a lot of reverb that is definitely what happens.

On the other hand I've been in one or two restaurants with really good acoustics. You could easily have a conversation in those even at the busiest of times. If there's no reverb your voice doesn't bounce all around the room. Your table can hear you perfectly fine, but you're basically inaudible to someone a few tables over. The background noise sounds like a pleasant murmur instead of a loud cacophony.

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