Sound Meters at Lidl

[Stub Mandrel]

I picked up a sound meter at Lidl for £9.99.

It claims to be accurate to +/- 1.5dB.

Has the features you would expect including min/max and hold. The microphone appears to be 'unidirectionalish'.

If its as reliable as most of their electronics it should have a number of practical uses, from checking on stage sound levels to comparing amps and speakers to tuning bass ports, especially tasks where comparisons are more important than absolute accuracy.

May be off the shelves soon but I don't expect it to sell out rapidly...

[Happy Jack]

Bizarrely, the Lidl website offers no Search facility.

But at least it offered me the chance to watch their latest TV advert.

WT actual F? Like that's going to happen ...

 

[BigRedX]

14 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I picked up a sound meter at Lidl for £9.99.

It claims to be accurate to +/- 1.5dB.

Accurate at which frequencies? And which frequency weightings are available?

[Paul S]

I downloaded a free decibel meter app on my phone.  Is it accurate?  No idea.  

Nor do I have any idea why I have added this comment but there you are.  

[Woodinblack]

I got one from ebay some time ago to show we were too loud. It showed we were too loud!

And it also showed us how difficult quiet is, and why we don't play places with a sound limiter.

The apple watch has a dB meter in it. When I have finished a gig, my watch helpfully has a list of how many times the music was at a dangerous volume, and at the end of the week, which days were bad!

[ahpook]

9 minutes ago, Paul S said:

I downloaded a free decibel meter app on my phone.  Is it accurate?  No idea.  

Nor do I have any idea why I have added this comment but there you are.  

Well, it gives me an excuse to post some actual research on the subject

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289502743_Testing_the_accuracy_of_smartphones_and_sound_level_meter_applications_for_measuring_environmental_noise

Once a librarian......

 

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by ahpook

[Happy Jack]

5 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Well, it gives me an excuse to post some actual research on the subject

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289502743_Testing_the_accuracy_of_smartphones_and_sound_level_meter_applications_for_measuring_environmental_noise

Once a librarian......

 

 

OK, just read through all of that (my speed-reading course was a wonderful investment) and nowhere at all does it mention which noise meter is best for metal.

Call that research? Pah!

 

[ahpook]

6 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

OK, just read through all of that (my speed-reading course was a wonderful investment) and nowhere at all does it mention which noise meter is best for metal.

Call that research? Pah!

 

Which sound meter is best for metal ?

First question's free buddy, then I have to charge.

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by ahpook

[Stub Mandrel]

5 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Accurate at which frequencies? And which frequency weightings are available?

It's Lidl... so they tell you in the instruction booklet.

A-weighting only.

+/- 1.5dB @ 1kHz 'standard source'.

And they give the A-weighting and tolerance in octave steps  from 31.5Hz to 8Khz. It's +/- 1.5dB from 125Hz to 1Khz.

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Stub Mandrel

[Stub Mandrel]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

The apple watch has a dB meter in it. When I have finished a gig, my watch helpfully has a list of how many times the music was at a dangerous volume, and at the end of the week, which days were bad!

If you're standing in front of a combo next to a drum kit your wrist may get more volume than your ears.

[Grangur]

4 hours ago, Paul S said:

I downloaded a free decibel meter app on my phone.  Is it accurate?  No idea.  

Nor do I have any idea why I have added this comment but there you are.  

Me too. I downloaded to find out which of 2 dust-extract machines was the most noisey. Answer: they're both too @%$£*xx noisey. So they're both going.

Well it told me they're both about the same, which is good enough for me. I wouldn't want to stand in court and swear it's accurate, or use it to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that my band was pumping out less than 86db, but it's good enough for me.

[Woodinblack]

22 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

If you're standing in front of a combo next to a drum kit your wrist may get more volume than your ears.

No, my ear gets most of the cymbal noise! Luckily I don't have unadorned ears.

[pete.young]

Some of the apps in mobile phones make use (inadvertently sometimes) of built-in limiters, and may need to be re-calibrated if you want to measure over 100dB or thereabouts.

[Chienmortbb]

On 18/08/2020 at 16:06, Grangur said:

Me too. I downloaded to find out which of 2 dust-extract machines was the most noisey. Answer: they're both too @%$£*xx noisey. So they're both going.

Well it told me they're both about the same, which is good enough for me. I wouldn't want to stand in court and swear it's accurate, or use it to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that my band was pumping out less than 86db, but it's good enough for me.

If your band is pumping out lower than 86dB you need to try harder. 

[Grangur]

36 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

If your band is pumping out lower than 86dB you need to try harder. 

😄 I've never measured output from a band.... as you've sussed. 

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

If your band is pumping out lower than 86dB you need to try harder. 

I don't think we could even tune at 86dB!