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Sound Meter App for Android

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drp1003

Well-Known Member
I finally got around to doing a volume level test using the Sound Meter app for Android, just to hear how loud my music is when doing some critical listening.

Some things to know:

-- I sit about 8 feet away from my speakers at ear level with the tweeters, and between the speakers in the 'sweet spot'.
-- My phone's mic is on the bottom of the phone; I pointed the bottom of my phone towards the speakers which was placed right next to my head.
-- I listened to CD 2 of Pink Floyd's The Wall. This album on CD has good dynamic range - lots of quiet passages, and it has loud snare drum hits and loud vocals as well.
-- I tried to make the room as quiet as possible by turning off the heat temporarily and doing some other things.
-- I adjusted the volume level to perhaps just a little louder than I usually have it set - and this would be considered the loudest I would set it to for critical listening. Anything louder and I feel like I'm not enjoying the moment anymore, and also, I'm trying to be a good neighbor.

Min: 43dB
Ave: 67dB
Max: 83dB

I was surprised. According to the app, 60dB is considered to be only as loud as having a normal conversation. My max level doesn't even come close to hearing loss levels.

Of course, it is my humble opinion that when you have your system humming along nicely and as close to 'reference' as possible, then you really don't need to crank up the volume levels to hear all those nuanced things that makes a great recording great.
 
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What is "reference"?

Your preferred listening level is lower than mine.

Or, my preferred listening level is louder than yours.
 
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For instance, the helicopter sound effects from disc 1 of The Wall - The Happiest Days of Our Lives - Another Brick in the Wall.

I don't have to crank the volume up anymore to perceive how that track should properly sound. The helicopter sounds like it's hovering above me, even a lower listening levels. My system is reference level quality now - in my own humble opinion of course.
 
It is hard to imagine the "proper sound" of a hovering helicopter at 67dB.

Are you just saying that your speakers can provide good detail and dynamics, even at low volumes?

My system is reference quality too, IMHO. Glad you are enjoying yours.
 
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I get similar results at my preferred listening levels, using SPLnFFT, for my iphone. The better your system is, the less need to turn it up to hear everything. You may get flack from folks about anything less than 120 dB "live" listening levels being insufficient. It is safe to ignore them. And, FWIW, some of them may be pompous jerks...

<insert popcorn graphic here>

:)
 
I think what's going on is the fact that my listening room is pretty quiet to begin with. In fact, my residential neighborhood in general is quiet - no traffic noise etc. Room acoustics are pretty good as well. I could yell at the top of my lungs and any reverb that follows dies very quickly. Lots of carpet, curtains, wall hangings to beak up reflections. It's like a library in there. I turned off the heat just so the fan noise wouldn't screw up the test, adding unwanted bBs. If I get acclimated to the quietness of the room, and concentrate on the music, then it feels like the music is being blasted out loud. And that's when I have to turn down the volume sometimes.
 
sqlsavior said:
I get similar results at my preferred listening levels, using SPLnFFT, for my iphone. The better your system is, the less need to turn it up to hear everything. You may get flack from folks about anything less than 120 dB "live" listening levels being insufficient. It is safe to ignore them. And, FWIW, some of them may be pompous jerks...

<insert popcorn graphic here>

:)
Click to expand...

Yes,that is ceetainly true of some posters.

:)
 
drp1003 said:
I think what's going on is the fact that my listening room is pretty quiet to begin with. In fact, my residential neighborhood in general is quiet - no traffic noise etc. Room acoustics are pretty good as well. I could yell at the top of my lungs and any reverb that follows dies very quickly. Lots of carpet, curtains, wall hangings to beak up reflections. It's like a library in there. I turned off the heat just so the fan noise wouldn't screw up the test, adding unwanted bBs. If I get acclimated to the quietness of the room, and concentrate on the music, then it feels like the music is being blasted out loud. And that's when I have to turn down the volume sometimes.
Click to expand...
A quiet environment is essential for lower-volume listening, and is not available to everyone, alas. At RMAF 2016, I saw some giant, powerful tube amps being demonstrated - with the air conditioning on, out of necessity. :no:

My place is around 29-31 dBA at night, or sometimes mid morning or mid afternoon, between "rush" hours. Just a bit of wind can up that a fair amount, so I don't listen 'critically' in poor weather. When it is really quiet, my system is involving right down to "hold your breath to hear" levels.

Congratulations, and enjoy! :music:
 
sqlsavior said:
A quiet environment is essential for lower-volume listening, and is not available to everyone, alas. At RMAF 2016, I saw some giant, powerful tube amps being demonstrated - with the air conditioning on, out of necessity. :no:

My place is around 29-31 dBA at night, or sometimes mid morning or mid afternoon, between "rush" hours. Just a bit of wind can up that a fair amount, so I don't listen 'critically' in poor weather. When it is really quiet, my system is involving right down to "hold your breath to hear" levels.

Congratulations, and enjoy! :music:
Click to expand...
It's raining outside right now where I'm at. I was gonna do a 'get-the-room-as-quiet-as-possible' dB test earlier to add to this discussion. Unfortunately, I can hear the pitter-patter of rain from just where I'm sitting. It'll have to wait till later I guess.
 
Where I live it's parrot season. Lots of sulphur-crested cocatoos squark extremely loudly from dusk into the evenings, during the day they demolish the garden. When their season ends, we will have cicadas chirping in the evening. One evening I was listening to a new electronic music disk, and thought it was good but disagreed with some of the approach, only to find later that what I was disagreeing with was not on the recording, it was the cicadas! Other times of the year are very quiet.

I don't have a mobile phone, so no apps for me. I got a cheap sound level meter from China/ebay, seems to do the job OK but I don't have anything to check calibration, so trust it is reasonably OK. It's been some years since I've used it, so can't recall readings to share.
 
I'll have to admit, I find this app very useful.

I ran a smartphone mic calibration test using another similar app. There are two such tests: One using a real dB tester to monitor the room, then adjusting the dB level accordingly on the app. The other (the one I used) involves simply placing my phone in a very quiet room (20dB or less background noise) and letting the app calibrate the mic itself.

Sound Meter app was slightly under-calibrated by about 3-4 dB, so I it adjusted it by adding 4 dB overall - then pressed SAVE.

Anyway, my listening room is indeed very quiet most of the time - around 20dB without HVAC fans running etc. Living in a quiet neighborhood helps too.

I really do have a clearer understanding now of what's going on regarding volume levels, and if anything this app (or ones like it) have, at the very least, given me a baseline - something I can relate to, instead of guessing.
 
drp1003 said:
I'll have to admit, I find this app very useful.

I ran a smartphone mic calibration test using another similar app. There are two such tests: One using a real dB tester to monitor the room, then adjusting the dB level accordingly on the app. The other (the one I used) involves simply placing my phone in a very quiet room (20dB or less background noise) and letting the app calibrate the mic itself.

Sound Meter app was slightly under-calibrated by about 3-4 dB, so I it adjusted it by adding 4 dB overall - then pressed SAVE.

Anyway, my listening room is indeed very quiet most of the time - around 20dB without HVAC fans running etc. Living in a quiet neighborhood helps too.

I really do have a clearer understanding now of what's going on regarding volume levels, and if anything this app (or ones like it) have, at the very least, given me a baseline - something I can relate to, instead of guessing.
Click to expand...
What is the app that auto calibrates?
 
Sound Analyzer App

Make sure you do the test in a room that's very quiet to begin with, and do the test during a quiet time of day. The whole point of this test from what I gathered is to make sure that the background noise is as close to 20dB as possible. It's kinda finicky. It might take you a few times to get it right. Being absolutely quiet and getting your surroundings quiet is actually kinda hard to do

Then I compared the results of this app to the other and came to the conclusion that I needed to adjust the dB level UP 4 dB. Now both apps seem to be recording the same results.
 
drp1003 said:
Sound Analyzer App

Make sure you do the test in a room that's very quiet to begin with, and do the test during a quiet time of day. The whole point of this test from what I gathered is to make sure that the background noise is as close to 20dB as possible. It's kinda finicky. It might take you a few times to get it right. Being absolutely quiet and getting your surroundings quiet is actually kinda hard to do

Then I compared the results of this app to the other and came to the conclusion that I needed to adjust the dB level UP 4 dB. Now both apps seem to be recording the same results.
Click to expand...
Again, bear in mind this will not give you the most accurate results. It'll get you somewhere near the ballpark. What you've done is "calibrated" one app to another, using an estimate on the first app. Not trying to rain on your parade, just identifying the inaccuracy. Having said that, it's pretty cool that the Sound Analyzer App at least attempts to offer a solution for those without access to the equipment and programs needed for accurate measurements. Downloading it now for fun! :thumbsup: Thanks!
 
I like Sound Meter better than Sound Analyzer. The display is better.

I feel like the more I learn about sound levels in general, and the more I work with these two apps and gain more experience, then I can sorta judge the accuracy of both.

I'll probably run a pink noise video next over YouTube and compare the results again. It's all good...
 
I definitely had to work to get my calibration room quiet. I have a detached garage. Which means no fans, no refrigerator, no pets, no people, no computers humming away. The loudest thing in the room was me when I ran the test. You'd be surprised how many times a dog barked or the squirrels chattered, airplanes flying overhead. All it takes is ten seconds thereabouts to run the test. Ten measly seconds is enough time though for any kind of random noise to pop up and ruin the test.
 
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