Digital or Analog Radio Shack SPL Meter?

[Active Speaker]

Radio Shack has just released a new analog spl meter. Any opinions on which one to get & why?

[Lwang]

I have both and use one or the other. But I prefer the digital version because it has a linear scale (digital readout, bar graph and -10dB to +10dB scale) that is more accurate than the analog's -10 to +6dB scale. Plus, at either extreme of the analog's scale, it becomes alot more inaccurate (mesure a signal at -8dB in one level setting (80dB, or whater), and measure again one notch down. Your reading will be quite a bit off from what should be +2dB.

Useful features on the digital includes min/max, and measure for X seconds.

The analog meter is good for situations where you walk around with the meter, trying to find the exact spots of peak and nulls for a given freq or freq range.

[Active Speaker]

So, do you need both? Also, I've read that the analog meter is off in the lower frequencies; is the digital meter off as well? Thanks.

[Lwang]

For general HT use, digital allows for greater range within a SPL setting, plus the few nifty features listed.

Analog would be used only for finding out more about your room, which most people don't bother getting into. Or when someone wants to fine tune down to the exact, since it analog meter allows reading of sub-dB difference, which is pointless.

The digital meter also has the low freq rolloff. From what I know, the extreme low freq is rolled off because if you have flat response to 0hz, anything wiojld be setting it off, its own movement, etc.