BAFX Products - Decibel Meter/Sound Pressure Level Reader (SPL) / 30-130dBA Range - 1 Year Warranty (Standard)

Seems to work great. I've probably needed one of these many, many times. Not really required, just wanting to take a sound level and put a number to. Instead of saying "yep, that sounds loud" I can now say "Yes, that is 118.4dB". Honestly, I have no real need for it, but it's great to put a number on sound levels. It's even fun to just play with. I was putting a new audio system in, and was attempting to compare old system levels to new, to see what my new system did for me. As well as test specific frequency outputs to test and set the audio tuning. I'm no scientist, and I'm not exactly setting up my environment and testing methods as such. But for a way to test levels, this thing is small, easy, and seems to be accurate. I really like it. Anyone wishing to audio tune, test exhaust output dB levels, or even maybe a band checking levels, this thing is easy, and simple and puts a number to it instead of "Yeah, I think that sounds louder".

I needed a simple, easy to use and consistent decibel meter for product reviews that I do. This BAFX meter absolutely does the trick and is consistent. Primarily I use the LOW and MAX functions to record ambient (LOW) and evaluating noise made from flying machines (MAX) so that we can do basic audio comparisons regarding noise generated and if we should or should not be requiring hearing protection. This unit can bee off by a decibel in either direction, so we fail SAFE by requiring hearing protection if the source of noise is even close. It's well constructed and I make frequent use of the 1/4 20 threaded receiver which is the standard mount for all photographic tripods etc. Battery life is fantastic, read out is clear, absolutely performs as expected and I can't imagine anything better for the money spent. I definitely recommend it without hesitation to friends and colleagues.

I initially bought this decibel meter to measure the output of my QSC loudspeaker, and it has worked great so far! It has been fairly accurate within 2-3db and is what I would have expected of a product in this price bracket. It is a generally good value but to be picky, is feels a bit cheap. The housing is made of fully plastic, and by taking the foam wind-sock off, it reveals a cheap plactic microphone opening. Other than the plastic housing feeling cheap, The interface is much simpler than most other decibel meters. This may be a good thing or a bad thing based on your needs, but I find that a simpler interface makes it easier to use. Most applications that you would use this product for are easily able to be pursued with the functions built-in to the meter. Another piece of this decibel meter that I do find quite annoying and cheap is the terminal for the battery. It takes a single 9 volt battery and has one of those battery terminal types that comes out with short wires connected that you snap onto the 9 volt battery. As I attatched the battery for the first time, I felt like I would pull too hard on the short wires as I snapped the battery into place, and it would pull the wires out of the terminals on the inner printed circuit board (PCB). The battery ended up connecting okay and it worked overall. If you are looking for a cheap meter that will get you a rough decibel reading, I would recommend this product. This is in no way to be used for professional application in my opinion, but I do recommend it to well-intended consumers nonetheless.

I bought the BAFX decibel meter to measure sound levels in and around used cars. It's a way to determine wear on mufflers and quality of interior sound insulation. So, exact, scientifically accurate measurements were not important, just relative sound levels. The unit seems accurate enough for me to use to calibrate cell phone decibel apps (I never tested it against a certified unit) . Cell phone apps vary wildly according to the phone's mic. The BATX unit has an omni-directional mic, gives high and low sound measurements has a very clear, large, digital readout and met my need so well I also use it to measure sound levels in ares where I may want to use a sound suppression headset to preserve hearing , i.e., at a race track. The unit has worked flawlessly for the few months I've been using it; the batteries last a very long time and it built well enough to survive a few drops from waist level. I strongly recommend it.

Well, I bought the cheap $18~ one, it's neat, ID say it works well at midrange and higher frequencies, up to its rated 8khz, it even picks up db at higher frequencies, but it's sensitivity in the bass range kinda sucks, which was mostly what I wanted to test, my sub in my work van, while not as loud as I'm using a different set up, it's still at least 130db, running another sub, at less than double power I hit a certified 136.3db at a car audio meet where they use bass focused, 300+$ meters, with this it registered 100.4, there is zero chance this set up is 36db lower, as that's a very distinguishable difference, with low frequency bass, every 6db is about double the perceived output. While testing my home system, placing the tester on the port, going from 20hz to 100hz results in the highest SPL at 100hz, my system plays it's very loudest from 30hz-45hz, it registered at 10db less in that range. It also registered 95+ db with it in front of my super tweeters, while the bass was easily distinguishable as being far louder on the same song and volume level, by the port it was only 75db. I'm dissapointed, but it was cheap, and the money spent was already on my account from a refund on an our of stock product. Considereling the price it's not a bad deal, it's going to be accurate to itself at the same frequency, so while the number won't be right if it's bass, you could use a test tone to compare how loud two different things are at those specific tones, I can't say it's accurate at mid and high levels, but it seems closer. I wonder if recalibration, could help, maybe it can be calibrated for lower frequencies better, I don't know, it's cheap and knowing it definitely is inaccurate in the bass range is something to take note of. The only way you can use this to test loudness of one thing to another is test tones, at least for bass. The highest SPL I got with my limited testing was 107.9 db at 20hz, when I put it in the port, and that was the loudest I turned the system up as well, mostly BC the frequency doesn't sound loud to us, and I didn't want to get a noise complaint from my neighbors, if I take the defecit of the song that had the tweeter at 95+db and the subs at 75 on the port, at about 44hz, which is where it gets more sensitive compared to 30hz, but anyways a 20db difference and absolute minimum, probably more, 127.9db+ at 20hz pretty darn good, and that 20db is a small estimate, as the bass was definitely louder than the mids and highs, I'll be doing further tests to determine the difference at various frequencies, I'll likely get to test my current vehicle set up when the SPL competition comes back around, for a run I'll do a 40hz test and do it again using this take the difference for testing every sound system I care to at 40 hz. It'll work for now, and I'll at some point buy a much nicer one

I own both, the smaller basic meter (BAFX3370 dBA only) and the larger (BAFX3608 dBA/dBC) advanced meter. PROS 1) Gets you some good data for how loud your neighbor's really are, and whether or not you should evacuate before the loudness causes hearing damage. 2) Has a nicely and easily readable lit display, including light sensor for usage within dark or dimly lit areas. 3) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter: Although Windows only, the software is made by "Sound Lab" and titled "Sound Level Meter", and is a nice simple tool, and easily comprehensible or easily utilized tool, as well as apparently being packaged without bloated software and/or software features. 4) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter: When connected via USB ports, the device is automatically powered through the USB port. 5) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter: If you so desire, you can stand at your window or outside your door holding this very large meter for the next door neighbors to readily see you're have issues with their noise! (I wonder if anybody also sells any flags stating a person is going to file a civil complaint?) 6) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter: This dBC capable device performs much better than the dBA capable devices, and significantly notices the lower-frequency noise range displayed by small 4-cycle engines. CONS 1) Familiarize yourself with the peak level button, else you may find you're not getting the results you desired. 2) No adjustment for auto shut-off power saving feature. (ie. If you plan to leave this device for more than a few minutes, the device auto powers off.) 3) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter, the unit does not allow the users to specify the initial on state of the readings. For example, the unit defaults to dBA and fast reading when initially turned-on. I prefer to always take readings using dBC and slow, mainly dBC as this tends to detect the lower frequency range better than dBA and selecting slow/average readings to average in anomalies versus readily seeing a distracting spiked sound anomaly. Likely when recording, the slow reading option maybe more desirable unless you're trying to monitor for very short bursts of sounds such as gun shots, and then faster readings are desired in order to capture the short bursts of sound. 4) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter, although already heavily specified Windows Only software, such a simple device should be able to output using libUSB (and likely does so already) simple streams of data that can be easily piped into a text file for graphing by other open sourced tools. (I'll have to use WireShark to further examine the protocol used, whether serial or libUSB. USB Vendor Device ID is 64bd:74e3 "SM".) 5) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter, the hardware manual states possible to sync the time with the computer when connected via USB, but no option appears to exist. 6) For the ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter, a pamphlet packaged with the device gives a download URL for downloading a copy of the software (eg. SLVersion2.exe), but this is really an old copy of the software dated 2015.10.07, and the newest version (as of this writing) is already packaged inside the box of the device, using a small mini CDROM. (The version on the mini CDROM is SoundLabSetup20160720.exe, or dated 2016.07.20) Would really be nice to have a USB feature for computer logging, or memory for logging, and easily transferring (regardless of operating system) to a computer for hard copy. (This feature is now implemented within the larger Advanced BAFX Decibel Meter.) NOTES: The ADVANCED BAFX3608 dBA/dBC meter contains a usb SILICON LABS C8051F320 8051 8-bit Microcontroller hub chip, with the firmware registering the device under Windows' Device Manager as both, a HID-COMPLIANT DEVICE and USB INPUT DEVICE. The device's USB product vendor and model USB id's are 64bd:74e3 "SM". The device contains a likely closed soure firmware, likely incorporating some minimal addressing with arguments commands to initiate retrieving recorded records, ordering the device to start sending live data, and commands for getting the current time and sending the current time. If I had more time, I would provide some C code to perform these functions, but this is tedious work versus having the specifications or already written code. The hardware manufacturer should be providing the firmware specifications (eg. PDF) for communicating to the device via ASM/C programming code. (eg. Uniden provides specifications for their firmware used on their hardware products, although sometimes difficult to find.) ATTACHED: Attaching an image comparing an apparently older basic BAFX sound decibel meter alongside the newer larger BAFX sound decibel meter.

I am very happy with this product. I got it to help my preschool-aged child to self-regulate his volume. It worked quite well. It's easy to use - a small child can use it - he had no problem operating it by himself to see how loud he is, all the way in the farthest room of the house so my ears were spared. He thinks it's interesting to see how the numbers change to show his volume level, and after experimenting with it Nowhere Near Me for a number of days , he has greatly improved his volume control in my presence. I occasionally still have to tell him "volume check" as a reminder to lower his voice, and every once in awhile I still need to bust out this miraculous instrument and have him turn it on to see how loud he is - but it's increasingly rare. So I'm going to call this a spectacular mom-win. Many thanks to the makers of this product, I still have a good chance at making it to old age with my hearing intact.

I purchased this tool to verify the noise level of my exhisting dishwasher machine. It was a 22 yr old machine from the time the dBA ratings were not published. I knew I had the quiet pack 2 on it, but I could not find any hard number to compare to the new ones. I used this device to determine the max noise level and it worked very well. Just note that almost absolute silence is something around 40 dBA. I purchased a new machine rated 48dBA while the old one read 65dBA peak. Update Sept. 29 2019: I got my Apple Watch ( iWatch) series 4 updated with iWatch6 which brings the NOISE app. Apple shows the sound levels in dB, but indicates elsewhere these are A weighted, therefore dBA I compared the sound levels using the Apple Watch and the BAFX3370 device and the readings are considerably apart. What concerned me was that I have seen YouTube videos showing the Apple Watch reading very close to more expensive sound meters. It concerned me that I have seen so different readings on both devices, but I am not sure which one is off and which one is accurate. In a very silent environment the Apple Watch indicates 34 dBA and the BAFX3370 oscilantes between 41.5 to 41.8 dBA. Since 6 dBs indicate 4x the level, these readings are light years apart. I will keep the number of starts until I figure out which device is not reporting correctly.

Works as described. Reasonably compact, reasonably light. Not a precision or scientific instrument, but does the job it advertises I think, within a margin of error. Mainly good to tell people how loud something is, they should turn it the f down.

Easy to use. Work great

Straight forward, easy to use, lightweight, clear display, Min, Max button. Does exactly what I wanted, decibel readings ratings when setting up my hifi in the house. Good value for money. Battery included, so ready to go once you have it, pretty much.

This works very well in my opinion and is very easy to use. It would be nice if it had a "5 second average" feature, or something along those lines. I find that you have to watch the numbers for 30 seconds or so, then mentally take an average (perhaps "note the modal value" would be better phrasing, though most people wouldn't know what it means).

I can't say how accurate this is because I have nothing else to compare it with. However, the readings do stay quite stable without irregular jumps in a noise-controlled environment. It's pretty quick to respond to noise and seems to have a decent enough polling rate where the readings are continually adjusted. It takes a 9 Volt battery, however the battery that came with mine was already corroded, so that makes me wonder how long this sat on the shelf. The manual states that it comes calibrated and that calibration is good for a year, but if the battery is already corroded a bit, does that mean it's been sitting for over a year, or did they just package it with older stock of batteries?