Peak Decibels...

[mikeinDE]

So I have been thinking about getting one of these Sears.com (or something comparable) just to see what kinda numbers I am hitting. On an enthusiast level, by no means competitive. Is this a waste of money seeing as it tops out at 130db?--never really seen a DB DRAG to know what kinda numbers those guys are putting out. Does anybody have anything like this that they use? Also feel free to post up what kinda numbers you are hitting

 

[06_GATOR_VOY]

I would say it depends on your setup..... most guys db draggin etc are hitting higher numbers than 130. when I had my s10 with 2 12" L5 Kickers on just 1200w rms I hit 140 dbs with the simple setup. im not a competitive person either just enjoy the show of the audio as well as having it sound good daily ground and pound.

ive only seen a few handhelds that do up to 150dbs but they run around 150-200 bucks. also most guys if they can afford it etc run termlab to get their numbers since its what comps use to measure the db drags etc.

 

[mikeinDE]

thanks for the input, yea i kinda figured the "draggers" were at about 140ish.

I was just looking for a nice inexpensive way to see what I was putting out, and also track the changes as I tweek it certain ways.

 

[06_GATOR_VOY]

some db draggers would laugh at 140ish dbs as most try for mid to high 150s some hitting the 160 mark....shit gets insane with some of audio competition setups......lots and lots of dough etc.

 

[Blckshdw]

thanks for the input, yea i kinda figured the "draggers" were at about 140ish.

I was just looking for a nice inexpensive way to see what I was putting out, and also track the changes as I tweek it certain ways.

I got a free app on my phone, tops out at 140db. That could be fun for you to play with to start out.

 

[06_GATOR_VOY]

I got a free app on my phone, tops out at 140db. That could be fun for you to play with to start out.

I was going to suggest an app for the phone but I know they aren't that accurate from what I have read around.....

 

[Blckshdw]

Yeah, I figured as much. That's why I only looked at the free ones

 

[mikeinDE]

I'll have to do some more looking around for apps (iPhone5)......From a quick glance yesterday, it looked like the only free ones I saw were topping out at 110db

 

[marshall@pcm]

Will they even pick up bass frequencies? I had one on my phone a year or so ago, but I don't think it'd pick bass up.

 

[jimmyjam]

I got a free app on my phone, tops out at 140db. That could be fun for you to play with to start out.

the microphone in your phone taps out much, much sooner.

thats like saying your car can go 200mph because your speedo goes up to 200mph

 

[06_GATOR_VOY]

was going to mention rockford fosgate has an app that has a db meter plus wiring as well as a box building calc.... its a free app.
it goes up to 140 from the pics i have seen. again it will give you an idea

 

[jimmyjam]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.sira.sound&hl=en

REMEMBER!! The smart phone microphones were aligned to human voice (300-3400Hz, 40-60dB). Therefore the maximum values are LIMITED by the manufacturers. The very loud sound(100+db) cannot be recognized. Moto Droid(max.100), Galaxy S3(81dB), Galaxy Note(91dB), Galaxy S2(98dB)...

 

[blazinlow89]

Save your money. When I was doing comps I had a TL a buddy and I went in on, it was not cheap but helped tremendously when building my enclosures.



I will say that one time during an event at the local track I was doing my third run for semi finals and hit my highest level. After removing the mic is had left the staging area, one of my friends who got kicked in the beginning of the competition drove and bought one of those meters. He said the guy behind the both lied and his mic was Inacurate and wanted to get his own to test. He said the mic he had just bought read higher and he wanted to test it on mine to confirm. He hoped in and the mic started bouncing from 120 to err on the screen back to 110 and ended with err. He got excited and said that he knew his setup was louder than mine, etc, etc. Keep in mind I had just hit 142.8 on the dash with a 20hz to 40hz sweep.

I am not sure who HSS what amongst the pros now, but I do remember videos of a guy who I want to say was named Scott, cracking his door jamb during testing. he was hitting 174db on a TL.

 

[MAY03LT]

At carlisle a few years back, some guy had a mic that plugged into a DMM. The mic generated a voltage, and the guy used a formula to convert the volts to SPL. Every vehicle that he mic'd, including mine, then went on the TL. He was off .1db for every vehicle he metered.

I never saw that guy again.

That would be (IMO) the most accurate for the money, compared to the TL, SPL labs or AC.

BTW Mike I know you're doing more then 130.

 

[mikeinDE]

At carlisle a few years back, some guy had a mic that plugged into a DMM. The mic generated a voltage, and the guy used a formula to convert the volts to SPL. Every vehicle that he mic'd, including mine, then went on the TL. He was off .1db for every vehicle he metered.

I never saw that guy again.

That would be (IMO) the most accurate for the money, compared to the TL, SPL labs or AC.

BTW Mike I know you're doing more then 130.

Sweet! That whole decibels thing is a mystery to me. haha

And I realize I didn't even give you a listen at the Hooter's Meet. Maybe sometime I can come down for a drive and pay you and the fam a visit!

 

[blazinlow89]

At carlisle a few years back, some guy had a mic that plugged into a DMM. The mic generated a voltage, and the guy used a formula to convert the volts to SPL. Every vehicle that he mic'd, including mine, then went on the TL. He was off .1db for every vehicle he metered.

I never saw that guy again.

That would be (IMO) the most accurate for the money, compared to the TL, SPL labs or AC.

BTW Mike I know you're doing more then 130.

Must research technique..

 

[jimmyjam]

The technique is pretty basic, more important is finding a mic with adequate frequency and decibel range