Hi all,
While I am on vacation in the US this week I thought I'd stop by a local Radioshack and pick up an SPL meter for tweaking calibrations when I get home. Not that I've looked hard, but I have checked my local Radioshack's (ok fellow canuck's - The Source by Circuit City now purchased by Bell) once or twice and they haven't had them available. So long story short, I see the they have a digital and analog meter available within ~$5 of each other. Anybody have experience/recommendations whether to go digital or analog? Thanks!

I've always like the analog version, as I like watching the meter and it is easier to see the big picture. Never used the digital display, but I think it would not be as easy to monitor watching numbers change.

You're on vacation and you want to go to Radio Shack? I'm so sorry, man.

Good point Sirquack, never thought of it that way - just figured that digital would be more 'exact'.

Pmbuko - Maybe that's why my wife likes to call me 'techno geek'? I just don't get it

You know what I don't understand? Why does the digital SPL meter have that big knob to set the range? Same as the analog one. I mean it's digital, does it really need that knob?

Dan, before I bought my SPL meter I had an opportunity to use both the analog and digital models which were owned by acquaintances. I preferred the digital by a clear margin and bought one. To me, seeing an actual number indicating the sound level was easier than interpreting the position of a needle on a scale. In addition, the digital model has additional measurement modes which are important to me, such as the maximum level reached mode.

I much prefer reading an analog needle than a digital readout..

"the needle is pointing around 75 3/4"
is easier to read than
"Find the mean of: 75.7/75.6/75.9/75.2/76.1/75.8"

Bren R.

Ya, that digital read out is so much harder to guesstimate with the last decimal point bouncing around and all

Actually the RS meter doesn't read down into the tenths only whole numbers and it would just flicker between 75 and 76 using Bren's example.

I'm with John. I prefer using the digital over analog and yes Jay is correct, the digital meter only reads whole numbers.

Mine is digital and constantly flickers by .5
I usually calibrate by setting them all so they are flickering between nn.0 and nn.5

Serves my purpose but I'd prefer analogue for the Geiger Counter look if nothing else.