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They should have what you're looking for....(termlabs)

 

I am waiting on the results froma cheap dmm meter. From what has been said so far is that it gives results very close to a term lab. Must be used with a quality dmm though. not cheap crap.

but yes term lab is what is considered the best sensor right now.

 

Is this that "Kriss" meter or something similar?

 

not sure. there are a couple guys on ca.com checking them out. from what has been said, and thats not much they are fairly acurate. not that they are a replacement for the tl in any mean, but can be useful for helping people tune their system that cant afford a tl.

 

good thread.. sounds like there are some guys out there with some cheap tricks up their sleeves.....


before I read any responses I was already going to suggest that an electret mic and preamp (a laptop computer and $10 mic should do) along with a dmm will give you a relative idea of whats louder at moderate volumes....... and if you calibrate the setup against a real mic it will even be accurate.....

on the down side you are only going to be accurate to about 120db... even with a good mic... although I suppose you could deaden the mic to allow for higher spls... perhaps the idea behind the 'kriss' meter ???

 

i cant member who said this, but lick your finger, crank up the system, and if your finger is not dry within 3 seconds your not loud enough...

maby it was yuli.

 

Lots of meters here: Grainger Industrial Supply - Sound Level Meters (argh - can't link to the page I want: from the Grainger home page, see "Catagories: Test Instruments - Non-electrical Properties Testing - Sound Level Meters"). Not all cheap though... The RTA's look pretty sweet, where did my lottery ticket get too?

I've looked at this one but haven't picked one up yet: Extech Digital Sound Level Meter. I have a non-audio application in mind, so the 300Hz-8kHz range isn't a problem, but might be for others. They have 'em at Active Electronics for ~ $130.00. Others meters too, ala Grainger (see "Test Equipment - Sound Level and Light Meters" on the Active site).

I got one of these: Scoche SPL1000 last summer at WalMart here in Ottawa (again, for non-audio use) for about $40.00 IIRC.

As far as can tell none of these are "official", so YMMV.

Cheers,
--
Terry McG

 

if you want to cheap out get the analogue SPL meter from radioshack. it only reads to 120db but it gives you a general idea...the analogue is way better than the digital though the digital just isn't accurate enough at least with the needle you can notice slight differances. Either way though it would be best to either buy a termlab or go visit someone who has one. If you are near Toronto there is an SPL testing facility that charged $10 an hour for you to use their termlab.