Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Sound Meter of Choice

Just curious on what everyone is running as I need a new one! Any feedback is much appreciated. Should I get one that is analog or digital?

Get the Analog! I have both and ths analog is much more sensitive for accurate results.

What brand do you have? ie: Radio Shack or something else?

radio shack dosnt carry the analog anymore, you might be able to find a store that still has one, for cheep, i got mine for 15$ because they were trying to get rid of it...

You can actually find the Radio Shack Analog SPL meter off of SVS's website. It's priced at $44 plus S&H. http://www.svsubwoofers.com/parts.htm

I have the newer analog version of the radio shack meter. Picked one up about four months ago. I think the old version was phased out. Call your local rat shack to see if they have any in stock. Otherwise order one from svs.
Good luck.

They are still selling the analog meter up in Canada, and it's still in the catalog. It's 69.99 CDN up here (more like 50 US than 40 US) but seems to work well and have a decent meter movement.

Neverhappy,
I got mine at RadioShack.. If you check out radioshack.com they have them for $39.99

I have both Radio Shack models - the digital and analog. I don't know about the accuracy, but I find the analog meter just marginally easier to use. If you're interested in the digital meter (used only once), PM me and make me an offer.

I have the digital one from Radio Shack. I would have prefered the analog, but not enough to search to hard for it or wait too long. None of the radio shacks in my city had the analog so I went digital. It works fine.

jr

sorta on topic....

How does everyone use their meter to tune the sub?

Well, maybe I'm doing this all wrong, but I use the same 75hz signal for the sub that I use for the rest of the speakers. I get the control knob on the EP175 more or less in the ballpark, then make smaller adjustments with the sub's level control on the receiver. I think right now I'm +3db on the receiver's sub output. Everyone one of the speakers is +-3b of 0.

Radio Shack does have a new Analog version available.
At least in Canada.

I picked one up from them ( in the Vancouver Area ) just recently. Don't know why but most posts I've read say the Analog version is preferable.

Cheers, jag.

>>Don't know why but most posts I've read say the Analog version is preferable.

I just find that if the level is jumping around between 94db and 95db the analog meter shows "jumping around between 94 and 95" while the digital meter shows "jumping around a lot and impossible to read"

Thanks, makes sense. I'll be getting my reciever tomorrow so I'll finally beable to sit down and give it a try.

Cheers

I want to go back to Inanes' question:

How DO people use the SPL with their sub? Is there a test disc out there that gives a steady tone from 120Hz to 20Hz in 10Hz increments maybe, to allow someone to chart their standing waves in different locations?

My older, relatively-cheap JBL goes Boom, Boom, Boom in it's corner placement; when I get my new Axom setup I'd like to experiment with placement more precisely than my ear might allow, and since I already own the meter......

(Actually, I might as well ask if someone knows of a disc that starts at 20KHz.... might as well do it all at once!)

check the SVS website at the FAQ section for instruction.

To answer INANE and MarkSJohnson:

Just download a sweep generator and run sweeps that cover from as low as it can go to a little above the transition point between the mains and subwoofer.

Also, for this you should have a Parametric EQ so that you can compensate for room modes. Never try to raise the nulls, instead just lower the peaks.

As for meter preference, I definitely prefer the digital. This is because the parallax error bugs me since I try to change frequency in the Sweep Generator at the same time as I look at the meter's readout. Plus, if you are doing single frequency test tones and set the meter to slow response, it won't be harder to interpret than an analog meter. Now, if you aren't doing single frequencies, if the levels change quickly, and if you put the meter on fast, the analog will be easier to read. Both of them use the same sensor (well the newer analog and the current digital) so precision and accuracy should be about the same. That said; remember to use the SPL Meter compensation chart on the SVS site to calibrate your meter when taking measurements.