SPL Meter, buying advice

E

EveningSky

New member
I am considering buying the device in the title.
There are different brands, and different prices and feature sets.
What do you recommend and why?
I am a home recording hobbiest.
Thank you,
ES
 
haha, that's hilarious.

I can see you getting one of these to test monitor levels or something. But in band practice, that thing will probably just constantly be peaking, with the drums right next to it, etc....

I'd suggest telling the bass player that the bass hurts your ears, so turn it down please. haha.
or, grab some decent ear plugs.
 
I have the digital one from radio shack and it works fine. Some folks say get the analog one, but they're just vintage snobs ( :rolleyes: ). It is useful for checking monitoring levels and stuff, but I don't know what else. I don't think the frequency response of the mic is good enough for tuning a room, or anything (you'd be better off getting a small omni reference mic). Anyway, fun toy.
 
I have the analog SPL meter from Radio Shack, but I bought it before they came out with the digital version. So no snobbery here!

For your purposes, either of the Radio Shack models that scrubs and I are talking about will be absolutely fine. I use my meter for exactly the same reason, for a reality check regarding levels. Although your bass player might think it's really *cool* to peg the meters.
 
Why do I need a SPL meter?!

Thank you for your responses.
WHy do I need this? I know not (exactly).
I have gotten the impression that this is an important tool in a recording studio, home studio included.
To measure actual sound level? I do not know what 70db sounds like!
To measure differences in sound level in different areas of the recording/listening space?

I honestly do not know if I need this, but thought that it may be a useful tool.

What do you think?

ES
 
Well, take mixing for example. Physiologically, the human ear has its flattest response at a volume between 80-85dB. So, ideally, you want to do most of your mixing at that volume (with occasional checks at higher and lower volumes to hear how the mix holds up). Placing the SPL meter at approximately the position of your head and playing music and/or pink noise will give you some idea of how quiet/loud you're mixing. It is very common to mix too loudly, which is not only detrimental to your mixes, but to your ears as well. Sustained exposure to sound >100dB will damage your hearing, leading to high frequency loss and tinnitus (ringing in your ears).

I also check the volume of amps, etc., more for my own curiosity than anything else, but you can also make sure you're not exceeding the maximum SPL handling of your mics when tracking, too.
 
I'm in the same file as Sonic Al, I have the RS analog meter which was the only model they had back when I bought it.

Frankly, other than playing around with it for about 30 minutes back when I first built my current studio configuration several years ago, and on one occasion where I played with it in the audience for about two minutes during a live club performance just out of a combination of sheer curiosity and boredom, I have not even taken it out of it's pleather case in seven years. Actually right now one of my friends has borrowed it so his son can use it as part of his school science expiriment. That is the most useful purpose found for it in it's entire lifetime.

If you buy one, keep the recipt so you can return it after you've marked approximately where 85dBSPL is on your apmlifier volume control. After that it'll be good for collecting dust or for kid's science expiriments and not much more IMHO.

G.
 
The RadioShack unit (I have the digital one also) is actually much more accurate than the crappy units (at twice the price) from GC/MF/etc.

And to those who asked - Yes, *every* home studio should have one. You can't calibrate much of anything without a calibration point. More uses than you'll know (especially if it breaks).
 
I have a R/Shack one & used it with a white noise/pink noise testing CD to check for hot & cold spots in my little bolt hole. It didn't cost much & I mad some modifications by moving around bookcases etc based on the response graph to deal with bass mainly.
Other than that I used it to set balance/levels on my quad sound system upstairs as the room is oddly shaped with one Bose speaker, well, I won't go into that, I was having a hellova time getting a balanced sound - mind you that was a complex little process of marking and recording settings before zeroing & moving to the next channel etc.
 
Massive Master said:
And to those who asked - Yes, *every* home studio should have one. You can't calibrate much of anything without a calibration point. More uses than you'll know (especially if it breaks).
Click to expand...

Besides checking monitor levels, what else is it good for in a home studio?
 
When it comes down to it, if your monitors aren't properly calibrated, what good is everything else?

Other than that, it's a cheap way to plot the low end response of the room...
 
Damn it! Now I'm to have to go buy one to make sure my monitors are right.
Thanks allot guys. As if I don't have enough stuff I want :D


F.S.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
If you buy one, keep the recipt so you can return it after you've marked approximately where 85dBSPL is on your apmlifier volume control.
Click to expand...

As long as you only play the same source that you calibrated the amp too, you should be all set :rolleyes: ;)
 
TexRoadkill said:
As long as you only play the same source that you calibrated the amp too, you should be all set :rolleyes: ;)
Click to expand...
Which is why I used the word "approximately". Once I know where the "zone" is at and, more importantly, what 85dBSPL more or less sounds like in that room, any further "calibration" is just an exercise in anal-ity for me. We went through this in another thread a few weeks back, and I don't really want to re-start it here - it's another one of those Ford vs. Chevy arguments - but I find the idea of setting my amp to a calibrated volume all the time to be highly overrated and unnecessary.

It'll translate just fine if you got the ears. If you ain't got the ears, all the calibration in the world won't make a difference.

G.
 
i translate 85 db to mean = moderately loud but not annoying. i don't exactly see the point in calibrating monitors either. if i can't hear the adjustments that i make on my amp, what's the point? i mean, if i play some sine waves through both speakers a/b'ing back and forth, and everything seems balanced, isn't that good enough?
 
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