Great SPL meter App for Android !

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  • madmac
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2010
    • 3122

    Great SPL meter App for Android !

    Hey all,

    I downloaded this Android app called "Sound Meter" which in essence is a really neat SPL meter. For those looking to calibrate their home theater speakers, this app is excellent and it's a free download.

    It even give's a graph meter of the entire measurement time so you can see if in the end all your speakers are registering flat on the graph!! :T

    One thing I noticed is that the measurement level of each of the speakers was a little different depending on the volume of pink noise being played. Therefore, I decided to go with the volume level at where I usually listen to music, which is about 64 on my Rotel's dial. :T

    Check this App out !!
    Dan Madden :T
  • Stoney
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2004
    • 232

    #2
    Tried it. Found that I liked NoiseMeter a little better. It seems to have a quicker sample rate and also has a log function that saves a datalog. I was trying it out with an old Carver calibration disk that has a log sweep and several other separate frequencies.
    I found the notice that the Mic in phones is optimized for voice to be true. Mine wouldn't pick up much above 3k and dropped off very quickly below 200. I'm using a HP Touchpad with the Cyanogen Android mod.
    Fun app to play with though. Thanks.
    Emotiva UPA-700 Amp
    Emotiva UMC 200 pre/pro
    B&W DM605 S2 Mains
    DM602 S2 Surrounds
    DM601 S2 Rear Surrounds
    CC6 S2 Center.
    ASW 1000 Sub

    Comment

    • madmac
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2010
      • 3122

      #3
      Originally posted by Stoney
      Tried it. Found that I liked NoiseMeter a little better. It seems to have a quicker sample rate and also has a log function that saves a datalog. I was trying it out with an old Carver calibration disk that has a log sweep and several other separate frequencies.
      I found the notice that the Mic in phones is optimized for voice to be true. Mine wouldn't pick up much above 3k and dropped off very quickly below 200. I'm using a HP Touchpad with the Cyanogen Android mod.
      Fun app to play with though. Thanks.
      I agree about the limited frequency thing but remember, we are talking about simple pink noise here, which is well within the range on a phone's microphone. I did notice a huge drop off in SPL reading Db's when the subwoofer rumble tone was produced. However, I adjust my sub with my ear and what sounds right for correct bass in music reproduction.

      Is 'noisemeter' an App for Android ??
      Dan Madden :T

      Comment

      • Stoney
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2004
        • 232

        #4
        I was using a log sweep from low to high freq instead of pink noise.
        I found NoiseMeter at the android market place.
        Emotiva UPA-700 Amp
        Emotiva UMC 200 pre/pro
        B&W DM605 S2 Mains
        DM602 S2 Surrounds
        DM601 S2 Rear Surrounds
        CC6 S2 Center.
        ASW 1000 Sub

        Comment

        • Kevin P
          Member
          • Aug 2000
          • 10809

          #5
          Sounds like a nifty idea, at least for ensuring all your speakers are at the same level, but how accurate is it really? Different devices will likely have different mics with different sensitivities. Unless there's a calibration routine where you can calibrate the app against a real SPL meter, it's not going to give accurate dB readings me thinks.

          Also, directionality could be an issue. Depending on how your orient your device, the type of mic and its location in the device, it could register hotter for sounds coming from one direction than another even if the actual level is the same.

          Just my 0.02.

          Comment

          • madmac
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Aug 2010
            • 3122

            #6
            Originally posted by Kevin P
            Sounds like a nifty idea, at least for ensuring all your speakers are at the same level, but how accurate is it really? Different devices will likely have different mics with different sensitivities. Unless there's a calibration routine where you can calibrate the app against a real SPL meter, it's not going to give accurate dB readings me thinks.

            Also, directionality could be an issue. Depending on how your orient your device, the type of mic and its location in the device, it could register hotter for sounds coming from one direction than another even if the actual level is the same.

            Just my 0.02.
            Hi Kevin.....all valid points, but I contend that anything that measures sound intensity will likely be relatively accurate. As a matter of fact, a phone's mic is actually quite sensitive so directionality is not a major issue I would think. If the App is telling me that a sound is at 70db, is it accurate??. Probably not, but as long as all the speakers are ringing in at that same db level, does it really matter?. I did notice minor differences when calibrating all the speakers when the pink noise was played at higher or lower volumes. That somewhat perplexed me!!?? (they were minor differences though!!). I decided to calibrate using the volume set to where I normally play my music in that case. I keep the phone in hand, pointing mic upright in the same 'sweet spot' I listen to my music . I got better, more detailed readings from this app than my actual SPL meter.....plus a graph of the results (which was nice and flat across all the speaker's volumes :T !!. As well, this SPL app actually confirmed that my system was indeed, properly calibrated. I only made very minor changes because the App seems to produce more detailed readings.

            On another note, I play guitar and downloaded a tuning app called "gstrings" and it actually tunes my guitar better and more accurately than my actual 'real' tuner does!!. Go figure!! :lol: Gotta love technology!!! :T
            Dan Madden :T

            Comment

            • Glen B
              Super Senior Member
              • Jul 2004
              • 1106

              #7
              I've got the SPL Meter app from Studio Six Digital on my iPhone. I don't know if its available for Android. It is one part of their AudioTools set of test and measurement apps for audio professionals. The screen image rotates 180 degrees so that the microphone can be aimed at the sound source, and there is a setup screen for calibrating SPL Meter against a reference meter. The developer Studio Six does not recommend using a Radio Shack meter as a reference, because it is not accurate enough for that purpose.

              Developer website: http://www.studiosixdigital.com/


              Attached Files
              Last edited by Glen B; 15 January 2012, 23:24 Sunday. Reason: Added developer website information


              Comment

              • Kal Rubinson
                Super Senior Member
                • Mar 2006
                • 2109

                #8
                What is needed is a really auto-calibrate-able app. Have test tone output (via headphone jack) that sweeps bands of pink noise across the spectrum and the mic input is used to make a custom calibration file. Can one rely on the users system/speakers for this? Some might but they can provide a modified earphone (like the old suction-cup telephone recording adapters of yore) with a known FR. Should be well worth a few bucks.
                Kal Rubinson
                _______________________________
                "Music in the Round"
                Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile
                http://forum.stereophile.com/category/music-round

                Comment

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