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Sound Meter App for Android

Googling "anechoic chamber background noise level" gets some interesting tidbits. Among them:

How quiet is an anechoic chamber?
In general, the interior of an anechoic chamber is very quiet, with typical noiselevels in the 10–20 dBA range. In 2005, the best anechoic chamber measured at −9.4 dBA. In 2015, an anechoic chamber on the campus of Microsoft broke the world record with a measurement of −20.6 dBA.

How many decibels is a quiet room?
30 decibels
According to Minnesota Public Radio, the typical quiet room — such as your bedroom late at night — has an ambient noise level of about 30 decibels, caused by the rustling of sheets, the hum of the air conditioner, and similar sources of white noise.

Why is 194 dB the loudest sound possible?
The loudest a sustained sound can possibly be on Earth's surface is 194 dB—which is when the amplitude of the sound wave is so intense that the low pressure part is a perfect vacuum (the wave alternates between double the normal atmospheric pressure and no air at all—not something you want to be present for).
 
I found an old room-calibration microphone that came with my Marantz A/V receiver. And several wire adapters later had it plugged into my smartphone, and up and running with the two apps I've been using. It's now semi-permanently affixed to a side table near me, and that long microphone cable is now sitting close by so I can plug it into smartphone whenever I want. I figure this mic is better than smartphone one.

Before all that though, I recalibrated the new mic as before running the 20dB test, but this time I stuck the mic inside a well-insulated cardboard box that I rigged up in about a half-hour. Much improved. Let's hope anyway.

White and nerdy all the way....
 
On my phone this iOS app measures within .1db of my calibrated meter (Cal Due 11/24/2020). Not sure if they support Android but why wouldn't they :dunno:

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imral3 said:
Strangely doesn't appear to be available on Android. There's an official A-T app but, appears to be for connecting/locating Bluetooth devices.
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That is kind of strange? But as has been mentioned your phones mic is the question, I only know mine is close to accurate because I have a calibrated meter to compare it to.
 
OK. The room calibration mic is working really well. I set it up where it's gonna stay for now, and ran that really long cable allllllllll the way across the room to the other side - so I would be as far away from the mic as possible. Fired up the app.

I got the room as quiet as I could like I did the other day. It was kinda windy outside earlier, but that's done now. The quietest I could get the room was just below 30dB. It seems like 30-33dB is where things stand unless a dog starts barking or something like that. Of course HVAC fan noise adds 10dB or more. Music listening is still around 60-70 dB with loud snare hits and loud vocals coming in at just over 80dB.

I guess I'm not deaf after all.....
 
iPhone users will find the SPL apps for them tend to be more accurate than some of the ones for Android. This is because with an iPhone the hardware is a given. With an Android phone there are many different models with different hardware.
 
JoeESP9 said:
iPhone users will find the SPL apps for them tend to be more accurate than some of the ones for Android. This is because with an iPhone the hardware is a given. With an Android phone there are many different models with different hardware.
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I'm gonna find a nice little hidden spot for that calibration mic and run the wire up down and around to where I sit. It's pretty good now, but with a little work I can get it perfect. I'm pretty confident of its accuracy - way more than my smartphone's that's for sure. It's great because I don't have to hold the mic like I did my smartphone, making all kinds of unwanted noises in the process.
 
drp1003 said:
I'm gonna find a nice little hidden spot for that calibration mic and run the wire up down and around to where I sit. It's pretty good now, but with a little work I can get it perfect. I'm pretty confident of its accuracy - way more than my smartphone's that's for sure. It's great because I don't have to hold the mic like I did my smartphone, making all kinds of unwanted noises in the process.
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I solved the problem years ago. I bought a calibrated mic and a boom stand. Using them with REW and a laptop is more than adequate.
 
I find genre does not matter for me, I am right around 80-85ish when sitting down to listen.
 
GChief said:
I am not quite sure what you are trying to do?
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I'm trying to get myself to stop playing music so loud. I have this theory that the better your system is, then the quieter you can listen to music without losing any detail or nuance of the recording. I've spent the past year building up my system, and now I want to find out how loud I've been playing my music all these years. I find myself cranking up the volume some times and I'm hoping this dB app and mic will keep me from doing that. I'll now have data to go by.
 
drp1003 said:
I'm trying to get myself to stop playing music so loud. I have this theory that the better your system is, then the quieter you can listen to music without losing any detail or nuance of the recording. I've spent the past year building up my system, and now I want to find out how loud I've been playing my music all these years. I find myself cranking up the volume some times and I'm hoping this dB app and mic will keep me from doing that. I'll now have data to go by.
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See my post #32. I have been occasionally checking for years and it always is around 85db no matter the system. I have even measured at my dads house with the same results. My brain likes 80-85
 
Some music simply sounds better louder than other music. Like GChief ~85dB is the level that I'm usually comfortable with. Many of the auto calibration systems in HT receivers use 85dB as the reference level.

I must admit that every now and then I crank it up. There have been occasions when I had peak levels above 105dB. The older I get the less inclined I am to do so.
 
The last time I turned things up that far was for a guest who wanted to know high loud my then Acoustats would go. They are rated to 110dB in a 14' x 22' x 8' room @ 18'.
 
GChief said:
See my post #32. I have been occasionally checking for years and it always is around 85db no matter the system. I have even measured at my dads house with the same results. My brain likes 80-85
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Are those readings for peaks, or average?
 
GChief said:
Low 80’s is avg with peaks to 90’s
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Low 80s average w/ peaks in the 90s. (like Florida, lol)

Yep. That's where I'm at right now after listening to some of my favorite albums last night. Plenty of detail, big sound stage, good depth. This being my maximum listening level, I should add.
 
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