How do we know that bacteria undergo genetic recombination, allowing the transfer of genes from one organism to another

According the inverse square law, doubling the distance from the source of the sound, a speaker, for example, will drop the sound 6 db each time. if you were standing in the back of an auditorium, 32 feet away from a speaker not using any amplification, would you be able to hear a speaker clearly? why or why not?