iPhone vs. Decibel Meter: How Accurate Is The DB Meter App?

[@heychrisgreen]

Pause the video to compare the meters 😁 Very pleased with the iPhone app… it’s free and one less thing to carry in your bag 😅 Thanks for watching!

[@billyoung9538]

just an opinion, but to truly measure their relative accuracy you should hook up a tone generator and amplifier. This will create a consistent sound pressure at a given frequency and power. Then one should measure it with the db meter to get the, theoretically, accurate db rating for the given settings, and then do the same with the iPhone. By varying the frequencies and volumes at set intervals one could plot out a far more accurate graph of both devices and their differences. One thing to remember is that db is an exponential scale, so if the relative difference remains consistent then it would imply one of the devices is just miscalibrated for it's base; however, if one of the difference grows as the volumes get louder then the results would be in accurate. As for the frequencies, the reason measuring those is important is that the mics will likely have difference frequency ranges, and if one of the devices starts to fall off at the low or high end then that is important information to know, because without it one could be playing the upper and lower frequency extremes louder than expected which could potentially damage the listeners ears if it's not known about. If one really wanted to take the tests up a notch then get various noise generators that can produce white, pink, brown/red, green and if one really wants to go crazy blue and violet. once all tests are done and the two graphs made then that would be a more useful result than watching two db meters of unknown quality bounce up and down like old VU meters. ;)

[@mvh2275]

I use Decibel X and Analyzer at every show. They are great tools and help me to not only tune my system to the room but control how loud I’m pushing the system. My philosophy is and has been “Quality over Quantity”. I might recommend using a sign wave or pink noise through your speaker then measure. My thoughts - Cheers

[@cybergnetwork588]

Do you mind giving me the exact name of the Analyzer app, please? Or the developer's name? Thank you.

[@mcmattt1]

great video. it would have been great if you fed pink noise and sine tones through the speaker to see constant signal but all in all very cool.

[@heychrisgreen]

Great idea!! My old Rokit monitors are super great but it would have helped to have a consistent volume of that coming out to see the differences more easily 😅

[@RapturesDelight]

Yo bro, this is how to do it correctly. you need to update this video. Every legit SPL app will have calibration. Meaning you can raise or lower the SPL reading. Standard practice is this; 1. Use an SPL meter calibration device. You slide an SPL meter into it, preferably your best meter. Then you calibrate that meter, say at 94 dBA. 2. Now you play pink noise through a speaker and get a reading on your calibrated SPL meter a foot or so from the speaker, say at 94 dBA. Now you place all your phones or meters that don't fit into the calibration tool at the same spot and calibrate it's SPL readout to 94 dBA. 3. Finally, compare the calibrated SPL meter at high and low volumes with your other meters and note any differences. Regardless of cost, it's all about having a proper reference then calibrating to that.

[@heychrisgreen]

🫡

[@DilovanMAmeen-kn8sl]

What's the name of the application you used?

[@heychrisgreen]

DB Meter 😁

[@brianschwarz5040]

There are several dB meter apps. An additional identifier would be useful.

[@heychrisgreen]

@ apps.apple.com/us/app/decibel-db-sound-level-meter/id1227650795

[@NersesAstvatsatryan]

Hey. Actually the DB app measures the pick values which is why it shows a bit higher compared to the real DB meter. Pick is usually 2-3 db more than tye Max value. So we can conclude that the app is accurate:)

[@heychrisgreen]

Good to know! Thanks for sharing 😁

[@NersesAstvatsatryan]

@ also look, seems the song you have played has no bass/deep bass. If you play a song containing deep hard bass the value showing in dbC should be much higher compared to dbA. If you happen to test this on a real db Meter not the app, please kindly let me know if my prediction was correct 😊