Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Radio Shack SPL meter

I have a Denon 1803 receiver, dvd player, pair of M60 speakers,the vp150 for the center, vhs & cd player. Since i only have 3 speakers should i still get a Radio Shack SPL meter. What difference will i see after i use it?

well if you dont have a subwoofer or surrounds i dont think the level calibration is as critical. the sensitivity of your speakers might differ a little but it wouldnt be as big a difference as an uncalibrated subwoofer usually makes.

I never did get one of these once I got my surround speaker setup. I just listened to the levels and tried to adjust it by ear. Does having the meter and doing it that way make that much of a difference?

Hi,

The Radio Shack SPL meter coupled with a good set of test signals just enables greater precision. Lots of enthusiasts run their surrounds and subs at levels that are too high--they think they have to hear them as sources of sound--and then complain about center-channel dialogue intelligibility.

With practice, you can adjust levels by ear fairly accurately, but even I find that the SPL meter and the Sound&Vision Home theater tune-up DVD let you fine-tune levels even better.

Regards,

Yeah, after spending a couple of 100 to a few 1000 dollars on the speakers, why skimp on a $50 purchase that will assure you an accurate calibration of these speakers? I do not see a reason NOT to buy one...

Before the SPL I had my sub a tad low and my center was way too low. I guess my ears are way off.

Saturn

One must not forget that although a sound level device will allow the user to setup the speakers equally all on sides, their ears may not be hearing at equal levels.
This is often true of those older in age that may have any extensive amount of hearing damage from years of concert going or even someone who's had a blown ear drum or ear infection decreasing the perception of sound on one side.
Sometimes using just your ears will actually help to setup your HT the way your individual ears like to hear it.

Does pretty much everyone get the radio shack one? Any general preferences out there on the analog vs. digital if I am going to go out and get one?

Many people still seem to like the analog model, due to the more "intuitive" look of its meter (literally!). However, I went with the digital one, primarily because of the nifty peak-hold (max SPL) feature. Also, I felt that the build quality was better in the digital model, but it's just me...

You can't buy the analog meter anymore. RS only sells the digital one. However, I'm sure the analog can be found used on eBay pretty cheaply.