Which SPL Meter to buy? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Campbell]

Is the Radio Shack analog SPL meter the prefered measuring instrument of this forum? Is the digital one better? Other choices? I don't want to spend over $50.

Also I've seen people with graphs measuring their speakers. Are these usually created just by plotting a bunch of readings in MS Excel or something?

 

[Ron Reda]

Brian,

I'd go with the analog RS SPL meter. It's about $40 + tax...

 

[John Sully]

The only difference between the RS analog and digital meters is the display. I find the digital display a bit easier to read than the analog display, but everyone has their preferences.

 

[Brian Campbell]

Thanks guys. I bought the analog. The manual says something about 32 Hz up to something. Does that mean it can't measure below 32 Hz?

 

[Mike Matheson]

Hi Brian,
The RS meter readings need to be "adjusted" a bit to compensate for the fact that, well, it's "inexpensive".
Here's a thread with some discussion:
Thread
Or, actually this may be a better thread for your purposes:
Other Thread
I believe you'll find that the 32 Hz point mentioned is probably related to "C" weighting vs. "A" weighting on the meter. You can measure lower than 32 Hz (assuming you've got the test tones), but be sure to apply the appropriate correction factor (they're getting big at that point).
The graphs you see are usually either folks entering the numbers into Excel or snapshots taken of graphs generated by ETF 5.x software.
You can download a popular Excel worksheet many use from here:
Link Removed
Regards,
Mike

 

[Brian Campbell]

Cool! Thanks for the tips Mike!

 

[Andrew Chong]

That's valuable information for me too since I'm in the market for an SPL meter.

Thanks a lot, all.