This is a complex app with a number of settings that enable you to calibrate it manually, set a threshold level (in this case, the threshold was set to “80”), use a frequency weighting of A, C, or Z, and choose a slow or fast time weighting.
Decibel reader free#
In this first example, I placed the handheld BASX meter next to a smartphone running the free NIOSH Sound Level Meter. But it’s an easy, entry-level way to get a quick dBA reading at the press of a button. This model doesn’t offer a lot of settings or features and it doesn’t offer C-weighted measurements. Price-wise, it’s on the low end of the spectrum (~ $20 USD). For example, the BAFX 3370 decibel reader in the images below measures A-weighted decibels (dBA) in a range from 30-130 dBA. Whether you use a decibel app on your smartphone or a hand-held device, the settings can also produce different results. Readily available apps such as the NIOSH Sound Level Meter and the SPL Meter give you the ability to choose between A and C-weighted decibels. When you use C-weighted decibels, they include the lower frequencies that get cut off by A-weighted measurements.
You can also measure C-weighted decibels (dBC). The good news: A-weighted decibels are not your only option. These low frequencies might not get measured accurately if they focus on A-weighted decibels alone. This includes rumbling that might be caused by a toddler thumping across uncarpeted hardwood floors, or by construction equipment, motorcycles, leaf blowers, jackhammers, and garbage trucks, to name a few.
Erica Walker explained in an interview with Soundproofist, it’s often the low frequencies that really bother people and cause stress. In many applications, this is perfectly fine. An A-weighted measurement cuts off the extreme high and low frequencies, measuring the typical frequencies that humans can hear. Typically, noise-measuring tools use A-weighted decibels, or dBA. Your results might depend on your tools and settings. If you’ve ever measured the decibel level of a noise and the result wasn’t what you expected, you’re not alone. Why a noise might seem louder than its decibel reading
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