SPL meter

[fanousz]

hi guys.i dont know if this is the right thread for this,but i wanna ask is there a good sound level meter fopr under 100$?

[Danny (NS::U)]

It's hard to beat the $50 RadioShack meters. If you don't need scientific precision, you're probably fine with one of those. Galaxy Audio also makes meters, and I think they may have a model right at $100. (Well, I don't know if they make them - maybe they just distribute them...)

 

Edit:

 

Ah yes, here's one - and for rather less than $100: http://www.zzounds.com/item--GXYCM130

[snakewithlegs]

If you have an iphone you can get one for $0.99.

 

http://www.studiosixdigital.com/spl_meter.html

[KF650SB1000]

 

If you have an iphone you can get one for $0.99. http://www.studiosixdigital.com/spl_meter.html

 

 

 

Iphone peaks out around 104 or 105 db.

[fanousz]

so would this be good for measuring a loudspeaker.i i read that the cheap ones may give 2 db more or less,would that be acceptable if ur installing a club audio system.??

[MrKnobs]

 

so would this be good for measuring a loudspeaker.i i read that the cheap ones may give 2 db more or less,would that be acceptable if ur installing a club audio system.??

 

 

I don't see why not. 3dBA is the threshold level change where the averaage person notices a change in loudness. Club installations are more about what sounds "good" than what's accurate.

 

Having said that, I use $9,000 B&K SPL meters at my day job, and I was pretty horrified to see how bad a Radio Shack meter really is. It's quite a bit worse than +/- 2dBA, especially if you compare it with broadband noise (e.g. music) rather than a 1kHz calibrator.

 

Terry D.

[Crownman]

 

I don't see why not. 3dBA is the threshold level change where the averaage person notices a change in loudness. Club installations are more about what sounds "good" than what's accurate. Having said that, I use $9,000 B&K SPL meters at my day job, and I was pretty horrified to see how bad a Radio Shack meter really is. It's quite a bit worse than +/- 2dBA, especially if you compare it with broadband noise (e.g. music) rather than a 1kHz calibrator. Terry D.

 

 

So how far off +/- are the Rad Shack units?

[TimmyP]

 

So how far off +/- are the Rad Shack units?

 

 

IMHO, if you are loud enough that it matters, you are too loud.

 

If you are clipping the iPhone mic, you really should turn down, but you won't kill anyone unless the mix is really bright.

 

StudioSixDigital is coming out with a calibrated mic that solves the dB ceiling problem. Someone else (M-Audio Maybe?) has a non-calibrated mic that I think also solves the problem.

[Black Frog]

 

IMHO, if you are loud enough that it matters, you are too loud.

 

 

But we've played some clubs where the owner wanted a dB reading from a meter. He had no idea of what brand of meter or whether it was calibrated to be even in the ballpark of being accurate.

 

We could have put it on A or C weighted scale, or put an analog meter on a different scale range to make the needle bounce where we wanted- he would have never known the difference.

 

He just wanted to see 'a number'.