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#1
05-25-2020, 06:28 PM
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Decibel Meter
I've been doing a lot of recording at home lately, and I'd like to keep my hearing. I think I'm monitoring at a low level, but a decibel meter would keep me honest. I'm looking for something that's easy to use, not too expensive, and something I can take in my car too and other places to see what kind of decibels I'm exposed to. Recommendations?
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When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon 
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#2
05-25-2020, 06:39 PM
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website)
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#3
05-25-2020, 08:55 PM
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There are a bunch of inexpensive ones on Amazon. I bought one for about $15 a couple of years back. It works fine.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube
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#4
05-26-2020, 06:23 AM
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Thanks Bob & Jim. This is good.
__________________
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon
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#5
05-27-2020, 09:20 AM
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I still have my RadioShack DB meter. Years ago I checked a RadioShack dB meter agains an impressive looking OSHA one and the readings were exactly the same. That was what inspired me to buy my own.
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#6
05-27-2020, 10:19 AM
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lkingston--RadioShack no longer has these. I'll get a different one. Thanks for your reply.
__________________
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon
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#7
05-27-2020, 10:33 AM
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The problem with really cheap meters (such as the Radio Shack ones) is that they usually do not measure any levels below about 65 dBA, and they can be inaccurate. In terms of potential hearing damage you want to keep your exposure below 85 dBA on an eight hour daily average. That is the OSHA threshold for concern in the workplace. I often recommend budget meters from www.extech.com/categories/sound-meters/. Not as cheap as an app but they give decent and repeatable accuracy.
I recently bought a $149 external mic (MicW i437L) for my iPhone and use an app called SPLnFFT for $5. Combined they agree pretty well with my $6K professional-grade sound meters and are used as my backup. (I always have my phone but don't always have my sound meter kit with me). The on-board iPhone mic is pretty good too. The external 1/4" mic allows me to use my calibrators to set the sensitivity and verify accuracy. As an aside, given the way your ears are built internally listening to high frequencies burns out the ability to hear highs. When listening to low frequencies you burn out everything across the spectrum. In other words, excessive sub woofers are bad for your ears. [off soapbox]
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#8
05-27-2020, 11:52 AM
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I also have SPLnFFT. Really good for the price.
Glad to know it compares favorably with the professional equipment. I seem to recall some years ago it asked me to calibrate it once at the beginning in a (hopefully) silent place. Took only a few moments and it was ready. Last edited by ac; 05-27-2020 at 12:03 PM.
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#9
05-27-2020, 12:11 PM
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Yes, the SPLnFFT software wants to self-calibrate in a quiet space for the on-board phone mic. I believe that an internal reference signal gets compared to the mic input. (It wants to set the mV/Pa -- millivolts per Pascal of pressure level). It takes a certain amount of time for the detectors and pre-amp circuits to settle down. I notice that on all my meters, especially using the slow time constant. When switching to a lower range, I have to wait a few seconds for it to catch up before taking any data.
Before selecting an app for myself, I read several technical papers and attended workshops at Acoustical Society of America conventions. SPLnFFT came out on top, but several other apps were close. I have field tested some other apps and they were abysmal either in terms of noise floor or repeatability. I would not use my iPhone and MicW as an expert witness for a court case in place of my traceable annually certified meters that are field checked for calibration before each set of measurements. But it is good enough for informal survey purposes - and handy. Sometimes you need a cheap pair of binoculars and other times you need the Hubble Telescope. 
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#10
05-27-2020, 06:34 PM
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Earl and AC, Thanks for the info. I've already purchased the RadioShack meter from Ebay that Bob recommended.
__________________
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. —John Lennon
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