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For all you sleepless strata dwellers, kept awake by the defeaning noises of your neighbours who insist their CD player/surround sound/drumkit is only too loud because you are too sensitive, after a little bit of research (aka Googling) I have discovered some apps that purport to be able to measure noise levels using your smartphone.
Now, most of these apps carry their own disclaimeers that the figures given are indicators only and should not be used for scientific purposes. Measuring noise is a complicated business and at the very best, the devices here can only give an indication of roughly how loud noise was at a given time. I would doubt if any results would stand up in court but it might make you think whether or not it was worth employing a professional acoustic consultant to get an accurate figure. Many of them can’t measure noise above 90 or 100 decibels.
That said, they are as cool as, and a lot of fun. Take one with you the next time you are cajoled into going to a restaurant that is way too noisy and show your pals the damage they are doing to your ears.
Many of these apps come in versions for both Apple and Android but a few are device specific.
Noise Meter (by Jinasys) is available for free for Android users on Google Play and gets a 4.4 star rating. Sound Meter (by Smart Tools Co) gets a 4.4 rating for the free version but only four stars for the mnore sophisticated Pro version which costs 99 cents (probably because it costs a dollar). If you go here, you’ll find several other free and paid-for options, many of which offer the facility to create and store a file showing the noise readings.
For Apple fans, Decibel 10th by Sky Paw is a free app rated 4+ that will give you a read-out on noise levels while Noisewatch by the European Environment Agency, is also free with a a 4+ rating.
Meanwhile a website called Safety Awakenings has done a comprehensive review of sound measuring apps and has pretty mush trashed all the freebies and cheapies although one readers says they are ok for an awareness campaign.
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I’ve used these aps on an Android phone. I compared 3 aps and their readings differed by 20 decibels! They’ll be useful for owners wanting an initial handle on a problem and to get a discussion started. Anything more would require the independence and professionalism of a qualified third party.
paul@lannock.com.au@Paul Morton said:
I’ve used these aps on an Android phone. I compared 3 aps and their readings differed by 20 decibels! They’ll be useful for owners wanting an initial handle on a problem and to get a discussion started. Anything more would require the independence and professionalism of a qualified third party.
paul@lannock.com.auTo increase a reading by 20 decibels you would increase the sound pressure levels 100 times. That is a ridiculous amount of error!
I have a little bit of knowledge in this area and have always assumed that those apps would be pretty useless, however your 20dB difference has blown me away.
I disagree with you, these apps aren’t useful for getting an “initial handle” on a problem, and I would be very unhappy if someone wanted to start a discussion based on such readings (I would stubbornly refuse to put any stock in the readings).