SPL Meter recommendations?

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jnboone

Junior Audioholic
I know everybody used to use the old Radio Shack SPL meter that's been discontinued. Any recommendations for one that will only be used for home theater?

Thanks!
 
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JohnnieB

JohnnieB

Senior Audioholic
True, but the 130 only goes down to 125hz. The 140 might be a better deal.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
JohnnieB said:
True, but the 130 only goes down to 125hz. The 140 might be a better deal.
Click to expand...
If the meter's use is to balance the loudness of HT channels with pink noise, the lack of bass response is unimportant, and it isn't worth the extra cost.

If other uses are intended, such as measuring frequency response, there are other much better tools available.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
For general measurements, you might also consider downloading one of the available free apps if you have a smart phone (such as "Sound Meter" for Android). I haven't tried that to level-match my speakers, but I thought I'd mention it if you didn't know those existed. I'll also say that both MCACC and Audyssey have done a great job of doing level-matching, so if you have one of those auto-setup systems, you may not need a meter.
 
JohnnieB

JohnnieB

Senior Audioholic
Swerd, I'm not trying to hi-jack the OPs' thread, but if you were level matching dual subs, wouldn't you need to be able to pick up lower frequencies? Granted the OP did not state this need, was just thinking, if your going to buy a meter, why not get one that will serve all the HT needs present and future.

Adam, I tried using several Apps on my Galaxy s3. They rarely read the same dB from one app to another and there are limitations depending on your phones mic. Not that it won't work, just wanted to make aware of what I found out after using them.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
JohnnieB said:
but if you were level matching dual subs
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Even with one sub you need the sub and speakers all putting out the same SPL. I saw one of those phone things say that a chop saw (saw with a carborundum blade) cutting through a bundle of studs say it was 80db. Smart phone my @ss. At least my flip phone doesn't lie to me. Auto calibration is ... never to be trusted.

The digital Rat Shack meter is functional for sub frequencies? I've been using the analog one. There has to be a < $75 solution for this.
 
A

astr0b0y

Enthusiast
If you already run a receiver with Audussey or similar why would you need and SPL meter?
 
JohnnieB

JohnnieB

Senior Audioholic
Alex2507 said:
Even with one sub you need the sub and speakers all putting out the same SPL. I saw one of those phone things say that a chop saw (saw with a carborundum blade) cutting through a bundle of studs say it was 80db. Smart phone my @ss. At least my flip phone doesn't lie to me. Auto calibration is ... never to be trusted.

The digital Rat Shack meter is functional for sub frequencies? I've been using the analog one. There has to be a < $75 solution for this.
Click to expand...
Some phones, tho it may be most or all, only go up to 80 dB. There realy isn't much need for a phone mic to pick up any higher than that. Im not sure if it's the mic or the OS that limits it.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
JohnnieB said:
Adam, I tried using several Apps on my Galaxy s3. They rarely read the same dB from one app to another and there are limitations depending on your phones mic.
Click to expand...
Well, then use the same app for the whole calibration. :D Seriously - if the goal is to get the speakers to be the same level, but not to get any specific absolute level, then an app and phone would be fine as long as the measurements were consistent and included enough of the frequency band. The thing that I like about "Sound Meter" is that it supposedly contains the calibration curves for various phone mics.

Alex2507 said:
Auto calibration is ... never to be trusted.
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I clearly disagree. :) It has worked flawlessly for me every time level-wise every time that I've double checked it.

Alex2507 said:
The digital Rat Shack meter is functional for sub frequencies? I've been using the analog one.
Click to expand...
I believe that it has the same (or similar) offsets that one should apply at low frequencies as compared to the analog version. Those are available online. The lower the frequency, the higher the offset.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Adam said:
Well, then use the same app for the whole calibration. :D Seriously - if the goal is to get the speakers to be the same level, but not to get any specific absolute level, then an app and phone would be fine as long as the measurements were consistent and included enough of the frequency band. The thing that I like about "Sound Meter" is that it supposedly contains the calibration curves for various phone mics.
Click to expand...

That's a lot of contingencies and trust placed into a product that is designed for obsolescence in 6 months. Plus it's a $2,000 solution for a $50 problem.



I clearly disagree. :) It has worked flawlessly for me every time level-wise every time that I've double checked it.
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It screws up enough other stuff that the whole thing is a pass. I'm working with older information but my level of mistrust is completely current. Undoing what auto-cal does to my speaker configuration and xo points just gives me more to do. I'd argue that just setting the thing with a real SPL meter makes more sense than double checking and undoing a bunch of stuff it did wrong.

Plus with a real SPL meter you could actually know what level you are listening at if it happens to be above 80 db ... for 1/40 of the cost. :p


I believe that it has the same (or similar) offsets that one should apply at low frequencies as compared to the analog version. Those are available online. The lower the frequency, the higher the offset.
Click to expand...
If you're saying the analog one is better then I agree 100%. :D
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Alex2507 said:
Plus it's a $2,000 solution for a $50 problem.
Click to expand...
It's a potentially free solution to a $50 problem, which is why I mentioned it. :) If someone doesn't have a device that can use the free app, then clearly it isn't the cheapest solution. :p

Btw, you must have used or heard about a pretty junky auto setup if it couldn't get the levels right.
 
H

herbu

Audioholic Samurai
Adam said:
For general measurements, you might also consider downloading one of the available free apps if you have a smart phone
Click to expand...
jnboone, you don't really say why you want a db meter. I use Audyssey for a starting point to balance my speakers, then adjust to my preference. But I also kept reading about db meters, was curious, and asked the same question as you. Since my interest was just curiosity, I followed Adam's advice and just got an app. It was fun to play with, free or nearly free, and satisfied my casual curiosity.

I don't know how accurate it is, but seriously doubt it is more accurate than Audyssey. Besides, for my use, the primary benefit of Audyssey is distance measuring and balancing. I never change those settings. But the volume settings are more subjective. I tweaked the center up for more clear voices, the sides down because they are close to our seats, the rears up because they are far from our seats, and the subs up because I like bass.

Bottom line, if you are simply curious, get a cheap/free meter/app. If you want it to balance your speaker volume, realize that the very best meter will only give you a starting point, and you'll want to tweak the volumes to your preference. JMHO
 
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