Recommendation for an iPad or iPhone Decibel Meter?

[Nig]

Hey,

Can anybody here recommend a decibel meter app for the iPhone? I'm not looking for pin point accuracy here and I know I won't get it out of a phone, just want to know what levels I'm monitoring at roughly and maybe seeing how loud some equipment is at work. Starting to worry about my hearing a lot more lately.

There seems to be a lot of choices in the app store but not that many reviews. Would most of the products give pretty similar results seeing as the hardware is the same? Don't mind spending a couple of €€€'s either...

Cheers...

[princeofroles]

I use "decibels", it seems to work pretty well and is free... Tells me my dog barks at 90 db, which feels about right:)

[mindnoise]

I use SPL Meter. th Plus here is, it can be calibrated.

The problem is you need to find a reliable calibration source.
without calibration you readings are just relative, not absolute.
(and that goes for any other metering App.)

[dvbssman]

I highly recommend AudioTools. The guy that started the company previously worked for Terrasonde which made great audio measurement hardware. An acoustic engineer I know said he measured within 2 dBspl using the built in iPhone mic and AudioTools when compared to a high priced calibrated system. Not bad at all.

[Breeze]

Shopping for an accurate iOS SPL meter for a friend of mine, I found this extensive review page and decided to update this old thread. Of course, like all things internet, I don't know if it's entirely trustworthy so I won't post their results here, which you're free to browse; their top rated meter seems rather recent...

AudioTools looks like a nice package, but it's overkill for my friend's needs who just needs to calibrate her monitoring level to a reference.

I would think that without some way of calibrating, the inherent accuracy of any such meter would have to be tested across every model of iOS device, which is a tall order for any dev. Then again, accuracy within +/- 2 dB would be quite acceptable in this case.

Anyone with any thoughts or recommendations on the subject is welcome to chime in.

[Breeze]

Actually, reading through the above review, it turns out the US CDC did their own survey of such apps for use in the evaluation of occupational noise exposure, which you can read about here. Their top two picks were SoundMeter and SPLnFFT, the latter of which is the one the first review recommended. At $3.99, it's seems like the best and cheapest one out there. According to the testing, cheaper and within +/- 2dB are Noise Hunter and NoiSee. FYI...

So I purchased SPLnFFT: it looks very complete but it's very geeky and complicated, with practically no documentation or help. Great for me, but not ideal for my friend; back in the App Store I realize some of the ones mentioned are no longer offered, and there are a so many others that haven't been tested. The App Store model is so flawed in that you can only evaluate after you've purchased with no easy path to a refund. Damn...

[Vaylos]

I bought SPLnFFT, great app, and from what I can figure, pretty decently accurate.

The other one I use, also fairly accurate, is NoiSee. I got NoiSee first, but I decided I wanted the extra curves, and the FFT meter in SPLnFFT. I think it's a pretty good price to "what you get" ratio.

The two apps seem to agree with each other most of the time, though there is sometimes a small +/- deviation. NoiSee is pretty simple IMO.

I used to use the JL Audio Tools sound meter, but I decided I wanted something with a bit more accuracy to calibrate my monitors for measuring the room with REW. Er, and to make sure my monitoring wasn't loud enough to bother the downstairs neighbor/tenant.

I mostly use SPLnFFT, but sometimes I'll use NoiSee as a second opinion.

[Breeze]

Thanks for the info, Vaylos. Another cheap one that apparently is almost as good as SPLnFFT is its little brother, logSPL. But for 99 cents, you can't beat NoiSee.