happened to search on the Radio Shack website for the new analog SPL meter yesterday and the stores in my area (Minnesota) finally had them in stock. They've been out of the old one for months and hadn't gotten the new one in. I just thought I mention this in case anyone is looking for one. the P/N is 33-4050 and it's $40.

good info, thx

Got mine back in March. Took a while to get it because most stores on the East Coast didn't even have them in stock yet.

Does the old correction chart apply to the new meter?

The old correction chart will apply to any meter that uses C weighting. The correction chart does NOT correct for problems in the meter per se, but to the curves that result from C weighting.

So what's the point of the new meter? What did they improve/change from the old one? Or did they just feel like doing a redesign just because they felt like doing one?

I didn't know that. Thanks Tony!

That meters been in the catalog for like 20 years, literally. Maybe the tooling got broke, they wanted to update the look, the feel, the packaging, who knows. I'm sure the new one will function much as the old one did. It is the best bargain in audio, and I am amazed that guys with expensive home theaters "calibrate" by ear. To me, it's like driving a car with no speedometer or going on a diet with no scale (well sort of).

For a slightly better more precise and more expensive SPL meter, check the Checkmates:

Checkmate