Features:

  • Measuring Range:30~130dBA ; +/-1.5dB Accuracy with 0.1dB Resolution;
  • Records Max/Min values over time ; Fast Responding .
  • Powered by 3*AAA Battery (Included) .Large LCD screen .
  • Measures in dBA Frequency ; Frequency Response: 31.5Hz~8.5KHz.
  • Auto Power Off or Manual Shut Off by Pressing the Power Button for Two Seconds.
As accurate as the high cost models

Used this to help neighbors get next door industrial fans moved. Family took readings at 6 am -when fans cut on- at bedroom, louder than a vacuum cleaner! Gave readings to attorney who called company and company switched sides of building the fans operated from. Noise and chems were affecting them and their dog! May have been blowing out toxic air. Fine now.

Easy to use- and pretty accurate with code enforcement decibel meter

I just received this product and it took only a minute to open, insert the batteries, and learn how to use it. Anyone should be able to use this device because it was just that easy. As long as you keep in mind that it would be like a scales to weigh yourself- the one you have at home and the one that you use at the Dr.'s office may be a little different- but you should be able to keep track of the differences. This meter seems within a close range of the meter code enforcement used at my home. I am able to walk around my yard and watch the increase and decrease in noise. It is also lighted so you can easily use at night. There is also a button to "hold" the number in case you should want to photo document the level of sound. I am noting that I could not get the device to record anywhere in the 30 range even in a quiet location. I am using this meter because I am having an issue with my commercial neighbor and it will allow me to track the noise myself so that I can use the information at the county commissioner's meeting. For those of you having a noise issue look up: nuisance noise and public and private nuisance laws. This is a good tool to help me with my case. Update: Code Enforcement came with their meter to do a decibel check this week, they have a $300.00+ 3m meter- I stepped out about 2 minutes before they did and took my own reading so that I would have an idea of the accuracy of this meter- it was pretty close - it registered within about a point less than code enforcement's meter- but it was windy out and the location was slightly different. FYI- if you are dealing with a constant or low frequency noise, which I believe is c rated that level of noise will be higher than it will register on this meter but overall you will be able to have an idea of when you can call enforcement to have them cited.

Old School Calibration Outperforming Audyssey!

I have Audyssey on my Marantz receiver, but recently I acquired two Martin Logan Dynamo 700s to add to my 2.0 system for a weird cross-room diagonal setup, and I found them to be extremely hard to calibrate! Audyssey couldn't find any good solutions, and the subs were always too powerful. Without this tool, it was almost impossible to get any acceptable results. With this tool, I used the Min/Max (60/68db in my room) to adjust both sub levels to be the same, and the results were just beautiful. I think there is a good reason why people still do things old school! *** Update 2018 *** Having this tool around proved to be very helpful, and I keep finding new uses for it. I recently read an article about how to align your subwoofer phase with the main speakers with a simple SPL meter, and it was very easy to do. I played a 90Hz sine wave close to my crossover frequency of 80Hz, and kept changing the phase knob until I saw the maximum read on the meter. It truly takes the guessing out of the work.

Good cheap meter

I used it to balance the outputs of my home theater speakers (which were well off by ear) and everything sounds more whole and present in the theater room. Reproducibility seems good, but I have no way to verify accuracy of the meter. For what I used it for, it is perfect. It may be nice to have one with an output jack if you want to get very serious about calibration, but for the price, it is hard to beat.

You need to understand how these perform.

At this price you won't find anything better, and you probably don't need anything better. But. You need to know what and how any handheld sound meter will work. First, the case is microphonic. Every little tap or flex of your hand registers as a loud noise on the meter, apparently because the mic element isn't properly isolated from the case, which would be expensive. So understand that with any sound meter, if you are looking to record min/max figures, you have to keep your hand very still and steady. If you want to get longer-time measurements, the same folks make a slightly more expensive model that also has a tripod screw in it, so you can put it on any standard tripod and not worry about hand noises. And all "dbC" or "c weighted" meters may have a wide frequency response but the weighting makes them somewhat deaf to lower frequency noise. If you are trying to measure air conditioner motor noises, or late night low sounds coming through the walls, you'll need a very much more expensive dbA (A-weighted) meter to even consider that. Bottom line? For a general purpose noise meter (traffic, aircraft going overhead, car exhaust noises, crowds) this is great. Nicely made, nice price, nice accuracy. Just understand that you need to know what they are designed to do, they can't do everything, and that's not a failing of the product.

This thing is awesome! I love putting it close to things that ...

This thing is awesome! I love putting it close to things that make sound. I even involved my kids and had them play with it. My husband has taken over this product and brought it to work to check the noise levels of the heavy machinery that he deals with. I has been please with it. Would be great for those that need to check noise levels, my husband was very happy with the product and found it very useful.

It works well and is good enough for what I am using it for

Wanted to know how loud it was at a night club and it was too loud for my hearing. It works well and is good enough for what I am using it for. Good choice.

GREAT TOOL

IF YOU PLAY MUSIC IN YOUR APARTMENT AND YOU HAVE A CRAPPY NEIGHBOR? THESE LITTLE METERS DO THE TRICK!! YA JSUT SHOW THE READING TO YOUR LANDLORD AND TO YOUR NEIGHBOR AND TELL THEM TO CALL THE POLICE OR LEAVE YOU ALONE! YOU SHOW THEM THE READING AND STATE HOW REASONABLE YOU ARE BEING WHILE HADNING THEM A GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS PRINTED FOR THEM TO REVIEW THAT THE LEVEL THEY ARE COMPLAINGIN ABOUT READ OUT TO BE THE LEVEL FOR AN "UNAMPLIFIED" NINE FOOT GRAND PIANO! SO THIS PROVIDES A GREAT!!!! VISUAL TO BACK YOUR IM-NOT-BEING-LOUD-CASE NOTEL ITS VERY INTIMIDATING AS YOUR CRAPPY NEIHGBOR AND LANDLORD ARE SO SHOCKED BY THE TOOL THAT THEY ARE LEFT DEFEATED WHEATHER YOU ARE REALLY LOUD OR NOT CUZ THEY DONT KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE JSUT READ!! LOL! YOU CAN EVEN HADN THEM!! THE METER AND THEY REMAIN ASTONISHED AND DEFEATED.... VICTORY!!!! LOL!

What is too loud?

My tinnitus gets worse every now and then so I bought this to help me track down the cause. Each exposure to excessive noise increases the ringing in my ears. When William Shatner first got tinnitus he considered suicide.

Very useful, especially at the price.

It's not professional gear, but it does a good job of rating sound levels. You can't choose weighting or bands - there's just one scale. And the minimum sound level it records is 45 dB. Capturing the minimum or maximum level during a session is handy. My subjective impression is that it does a good job of mimicking my perceptions of loudness, and gives me an objective way to know whether a change I've made improves things. One of the best things is being able to insert decibel levels into complaint letters - people think I'm serious when I say, "... with the air conditioning running, the bad bearing was 85 decibels, measured at my door, a distance of 30' ..." For the price, it's a very handy tool to have.

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