The "review" discounted Audio Tools on the grounds of lack of features.  I HAVE Audio Tools and there are dozens of modules giving all sorts of tools and features for the audio engineer, including at least 3 different ways of measuring/recording SPL.
Audio Tools also includes a "generic calibration" patch for the iPhone to make allowance for the frequency response of the in-built mic.  It can be turned off if using an external reference mic.

I don't believe you can keep track of 'How loud' your SPL levels are especially over time. (without any form of SPL meter that is. You are deluding yourself if you think you can monitor at exactly the same SPL level all the time using only your memory)  Having a meter around is a better working option and will keep you honest.  I have got a radio Shack VU type SPL meter permanently on and telling me how loud things are.  I checked it against an expensive SPL meter and it was always within 1 dB of what the expensive meter was telling me so I am happy with that.
 
Often I feel the volume in the room is fine but to my surprise it is 90 dB SPL or over.  Monitor SPL level creep can happen! 83-85 dB SPL is a good level for doing mixes.  (Pink noise at 85 dB SPL sounds much louder than music at that same level so be aware!)  Be careful spending too much time at too low a level. You will find yourself not hearing the extreme bottom and top end so well and may over compensate for it.
 
85 dB SPL is one of those levels where our ear frequency response is sort of flattest if you could call it that!
I spend most time at 83-85 dB SPL and quite some time too mixing low level around 75 db SPL too on a single mono speaker as well.  Good for sorting lots of things out.  Back up 85 though for most stuff.  Nice to do a short heavy hit at 95 to 100 dB SPL too for quick bass and reverb checks and a little excitement.

Hello All, thanks for the excellent input.
 
I opted out of thinking about the phone app because I am not ready to purchase a new phone.  The cost is more than I want to incur at this time.  With that said, were I in a position to need such a phone I would certainly perform more research to see which phone, and which app, provided the most reliable results.
 
I truly am sorry that my RS SPL meter fell to the floor.  I relied on that thing so much.  The funny thing is, the floor is carpeted, so it must have fallen just right to render it "possibly" unreliable.
 
In the mean time I have sprung for an $18 model from a mega online "retailer."  I guess in the least it will "possibly" confirm that my RS model is janked, or maybe just reveal that the RS model is slightly disabled (like my right ear.)
 
With that in mind, and at the risk of derailing my own thread, I have noticed more recently that 80 db from a song with a large dynamic quotient is less fatiguing than a song that is hard limited to 0.1 (?,) at the same 80 db.
 
My eyes have been opened to the misuse of plugs.
 
I work around many youth, and loudness is an obelisk of machismo/worth to them.  Though the argument for the loudness wars has been hashed and rehashed, I hope that this thread will assist others in appreciating the value of those fragile auditory organs that allow us to discern sounds as low as 30 db, and for the fortunate few, as high as 20khz.  Get a reliable meter and use it.
 
Pink noise?  It surrounds us.  Go outside, close your eyes, and listen.
 
The dehumidifier in the other room creates a whir.  I wonder where music would be without 60 cycle alternating current?
 
Anyway, I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I sure do appreciate your illuminating thoughts.
 
the blind horse
 
 

I have noticed more recently that 80 db from a song with a large dynamic quotient is less fatiguing than a song that is hard limited to 0.1 (?,) at the same 80 db.

So true. There is some music I can't turn down far enough to enjoy on my pocket MP3 player and still hear the details. Other recordings just get better when I turn them up.
 
Technically, it's not about the 0.1 dB peak limit, but rather the gain that usually accompanies hard limiting, raising the average level to the point where your ears never get a chance to reset. There's nothing inherently wrong with setting your brick wall to 0.1 dB, assuming your limiter is good enough to guarantee that all peaks stop right there. And, of course, that you don't shove all the other samples up against it. 
 

Bit wrote "Technically, it's not about the 0.1 dB peak limit, but rather the gain that usually accompanies hard limiting, raising the average level to the point where your ears never get a chance to reset."
 
the blind horse wrote "Therein lies the problem."
 
Thanks, and my ears thank you too.
 

Hello Fellow Acolytes,
though few are those with time to care
USPS delivered my new SPL meter
I a/b it against my RS SPL meter and found that the former is not as janked as I thought it would be.
I know that the RS SPL is not accurate to the nano stage, but it is within a "range" of accuracy.
Now I have two devices to help me understand freq/db.
I move them around the room, the new one is weighted a/s, so I set the RS at c/f.  The best thing is this; I really have three monitoring devices. I am learning to listen better; not to the loudness, or the freq (though surely they have a say,) but to how my ears "feel."  If the noise hurts I know something is wrong. 
 
I want to label this thread closed, but I don't know how.  I ask the moderator to help me achieve this.  I'm a slow learner.
 
I also hope that those who are challenged as I am; those who want to hear, but are conditioned to hear loud, will turn it down.  If it hurts...it hurts, follow your ears/heart/muse.
 
A few more loose ends, and I'm off to asc;emt9uwev5,cgw4kgw.
 
the blind horse
 
 

Edit your original post and add [Resolved] to the subject line.
 
or if you wish I can do it for you.
 
 
If you feel one post in particular answered your question, press the 'Answer' button at the bottom of that post to mark it.  It makes it easier for others when reading the thread in future.

I did some research a while back on A and C weightings.  Result after a lot of reading was if you are listening to music C weighting is a MUST!  A  weighting will not help you at all.  It reads low because it is not hearing any low end and that is why the  A  weighting is useless for music applications.  Good for things in the mid range and above which music is not. Maybe you should have checked that out first.
 
The bass is there in the music and you are hearing it.  And so should the SPL meter.  The RS meter is well within a db of being accurate as well.  I tested it against at $400 SPL meter!

More specifically,  C weighting is designed to approximate the frequency response of our ears.