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Reading the 1-star reviews of the Chinese crap Amazon sells reveals that they are grossly inaccurate outside of their narrow sweet range.
You can't get the trusted RatShack meters anymore. (I must've bought ten of them over time - not a single one left.)
Follow Ups:
For $25 I have found this SPL Meter to be far superior to the RatShack meters I've had in the past. The readings are within a fraction of a dB of the two iPhone Apps below should you choose to go the App route.
For 99-cents there's the SPL Meter App for iPhone by Studio Six Digital. Straight forward and super simple to use.
"SPL Meter is a professional-grade sound level meter, also known as a decibel or dB meter, for your iPhone or iPod touch."
"Modeled after a traditional analog SPL meter, we have faithfully reproduced all the characteristics and qualities found in those meters, including the ballistics, ranges, filters, and decay rates."
"But don't compare us to a Radio Shack meter, ours is much more accurate!"
In the Apple App Store
For FREE there's the NIOSH Sound Level Meter App for iPhone from the CDC.
"The free app combines the best features of professional sound levels meters and noise dosimeters into one simple tool. Visit the Apple App Store to download the app today. The app is free to download. Please note the app is only available on iOS devices."
FAQ :
Why is the app only available on iOS devices?
"iOS devices share common hardware and software architecture that is optimized for audio applications. Therefore, we have been able to verify that the NIOSH SLM app will perform as expected on any iOS device. On the other hand, the Android device marketplace is fragmented among many manufacturers with different requirements and specifications for microphones, audio/signal processing chips, and software tools. As a result, testing and verification of the accuracy and functionality of an Android-based app in our laboratory is not currently possible."
I used a Radio-Shack in a Laboratory setting just to see what it could do. The settings were spot-on with the Lab unit, a yearly certified one at the time, a thousand dollar one.
The boss said don't include the readings from the RS unit because it wasn't certified but it did very well on the readings from the Lab within +-1 db.
Proper position is critical free space
We had a B&K SPL meter at work along with a calibration device. I was able to make minor adjustments to my RS meter with that. But it was so many years ago I don't remember how much adjustment I had to make or how close it came.
I still have that RS unit but only use it for relative readings, not precision.
Also I remember someone produced a correction table for the RS readings. That seemed to presume a lot to me that every RS meter was off by those specific numbers. :^)
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho
There is a link in the FAQ for the RS analog and digital meters. For the most part, the analog meter is close from about 80hz to 4K and then the numbers for correction are all additive.
-Rod
I embed them in spreadsheet formulas used for speaker placement measurements.
If you don't like what you get the return policy is easy peasy.I compared a cheapie SPL meter from Amazon against a cheapie SPL meter on iPhone. They were both within a fraction of a dB.
The thread I posted about this can be found below. To put it into proper context and give some background someone claimed that their iOS iPhone update broke their SPL Meter App. Not so. I proved it using my iPhone and SPL meter App vs the dedicated cheapie SPL meter from Amazon. While not totally scientific it was clear that the SPL meter and iPhone were both reading within a fraction of a dB of each other. The original poster claimed that the iPhone was 10's of dB off since the iOS update. Not so. Must have been operator error.
This $25 SPL METER from Amazon seems to do a fine job for me.
P.S. For relative readings which is what most of us do, absolute accuracy is not required. I just use the Studio Six App on my iPhone. You CAN buy more tightly calibrated external mics for it but I find it completely unnecessary.
Edits: 03/21/25 03/21/25 03/21/25 03/22/25
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are better investment. These can do 5Hz to 20KHz flat. They also come with calibration files. USB interface.
Triplett, Simpson and General Radio (Genrad) made some good ones. You can find then on the used market. The important thing is that it have a flat response microphone.
Edits: 03/21/25
I have the Aperion one that I don't use since we don't have a H/T system anymore that you can have for cheap. Comes with box and instructions...lemme know
Surprisingly, Niosh SLM app on iPhone 16 gives me similar results as a decent dedicated dB meter from Amazon.
And the Niosh App on iPhone was spot on with the dedicated SPL meter. But I don't think the App is available for Android phones per their website due to inconsistencies in Android mics and audio subsystems.
This is UMM-6. OmniMic V2 is better but they stopped production.
Here are a "few".
*********
We are inclusive and diverse, but dissent will not be tolerated.
How accurate do you need to be?
If you do a search you will find consensus that the NIOSH app on iPhone is within 1-3 dB(A) variance from a calibrated professional meter. Was the cheapo Radio Shack meter any better than that?
+/- 3dB certainly is an audible difference. But if you are comparing two different sound sources, the difference is relative and may be insignificant.
Depends on what you are trying to measure and why.
. . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .
Accuracy using a phone relies on the crap microphone in the phone.
It's frequency range will be very limited (it's really designed to pick up speech only) and it is likely to be little better than useless. OK maybe for comparison purposes only, eg if you have 2 amps and need to know their volume settings so that both are equally loud.
The NOISH App is deliberately NOT available on Android phones because the mics and phones are inconsistent. The NIOSH App is available only for iPhone.
AND... I compared iPhone SPL Apps against a cheapie dedicated SPL meter. They were within a fraction of a dB of each other. Not a true scientific test but audio measurements for our hobby isn't exactly rocket science.
See my other post.
Accuracy using a phone relies on the crap microphone in the phone.
As previously posted, there are aftermarket microphones that meet pretty tight NIOSH standards. Follow link within link for details. Each one comes with individual correction curves.
I've got one for my iPhone. :)
Honestly, the readings vary little between that, standard phone and a Radio Shack Digital using correction curves.
The microphone is calibrated. But the output of it is analog. How about the circuits inside iPhone? Like mic amp and A/D. Are these also calibrated?
Edits: 03/21/25
very good results found in linked documents.
I bought basically same unit with different iPad connector format in last week and have yet to open
There are several I've seen referenced around different web sites, but interested in your experience
follow the link in my previous post and scroll down a bit for more info.
Thus my question to the OP.
If the purpose is to compare the SPL of two sources, such as two different amps as you said or the balance delta between two stereo channels, the phone will probably work well enough.
Of course, so will your ears. ;> )
. . . in theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, they are different . . .
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from Parts Express or miniDSP or other place?
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