does anyone know of a sound level device that measures SPL's? Ive seen this one at radioshack, but it only reads up to 126DB. http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=33%2D2055

 

DJ - Pick up a copy of CarSound magazine & flip to the back. There's an ad for a nice SPL/RTA meter there ( I recall it going up to 170 dB, I think ) & it sells for $799. I can't find my copies of that mag ( I'm at work ) but I think it's made by Audiovox so it should be reliable. Of course, U can always step up to B&K!!

www.bksv.com

 

There's no apostrophe on "meter's"

 

hahaha, im the worst speller.

thanks but let me clarify. i dont need a professional one. its not for competetions or anything, just for me to play with. so i can kind of get an idea of where my truck hits in spl. (i dont want to go to a show or contest and get embarrassed if my truck is really low)

 

Mean Gene. which unit on the B&K website would it be. ive looked there (just for knowledge) but not sure, they have so many different models.

 

You will not likely find a consumer-level meter (inexpensive like RadioShack) that hits 160-170. Average Joe is not supposed to be playing around with those levels, so there's no market for them. In addition to B&K, which is probably pretty derned expensive, Sencore also makes one, which is not cheap either. Even the ol' standby from AudioControl Industrial is about $1000, and it only goes to 136 dB using the mic provided.
If Gene is right about the Audiovox, it may be your best bet.

You might want to try the RadioShack version first to see if you max it out, then move on from there. Just a suggestion, might save you from the big bucks, because sometimes systems that are very loud actually meter out to be lower than you might think. Once you get past 120-130 you need an increasingly larger amount of power to get each incremental 3dB addition to SPL.

 

engin ear, very true, good idea and points. so if ur sayin there really isnt any consumer type meters, then maybe the radio shack one is the better way to go.

 

DJ - Yep, most of the consumer B&K's only measure up to 140 dB ( C-weighted ) & max out at around 143 dB ( peak ). Of course, U can have them calibrated for higher but that costs $$. It's gonna be fairly easy to max out the 126 dB of the Radio Shack meter so U'll either need to invest in that meter I told ya about in CarSound ( I'll try & getcha the URL or phone # tomorrow ) or just wait until there's a soundoff in your area & just enter one for the fun & experience.

 

The RS meter (Radio Shack) measures most of it's response at around 1khz, so anything above or below will not be accurate. Audio Control is probably considered "standard issue" for most of the competitions out there...very rugged and can take a beating. Cetec Ivie is a good one...very portable. I used the IE30 for quite a while, but it's limited to 130 dBA.

Bruel & Kjaer does have some very high spl goodies. Instead of a 1/2 or 1 inch microphone, they're using a 1/8th inch mic. The 4138 is a good example. Great frequency response too!

http://www.bksv.com/1064.htm

As for portable sound meters from B&K, the 2260 Observer does a nice job. They're EXPENSIVE (for the average guru) at a bit less than 10k$. I forgot the exact cost, but it's mind boggling. I picked up a used B&K meter with the 4148 mic (not made anymore) for about 200 dollars off of Ebay. They'll easily auction off for about 500.

Then there's the Linear X series. Relatively inexpensive compared to either the B&K or the Sencore as Engin_ear mentioned, but you need a PC to work the system. I do believe the mic is good for up to 170 dBA.

Still would like to plug in a Pulse B&K analyzer in the GS for it's response and delay graphs.

http://www.bksv.com/2013.htm

They're not cheap...I think I was quoted around 30 grand for the system. Toyota uses these for evaluating noise levels in their cars. Now if they can only use it for a high end audio SQ system...

Percy