I just got new speakers, now I need to get my K-Metering calibration setup again, last time I borrowed a meter but the guy I borrowed it from sold it and got a rackmounted instead.

I'm looking at this one: Omnitronic SLM-500 SPL-Meter

Anyone know if that's good? Every site talking about it is in German so kinda hard to follow.

I don't even know what qualities to look for in a "good" SPL meter. I couldn't even tell you what brand or model mine is :) 

This one does appear to have all the necessary features: a suitable range (30-130db), peak hold, fast and slow modes, A and C weighting. 

Just comparing it to the cheap meter I have here...it says battery life is 20 hours on the Omnitronic, which seems kind of short - I've changed the battery in mine just once in six years. The Omnitronic is also more than double the price I paid for mine (~$40, IIRC), but that was also six years ago. I'd tell you what kind I have, if I could only remember where I put it - things are still in disarray here after my recent studio move.

Anyhow, I wouldn't agonize over it. It claims accuracy of 1.5db, which is more than good enough for k-system calibration.

When you buy an SPL meter, the useful thing to look for is a reputation for day to day consistency.

You can also seek out calibrated meters which are accurate enough to be used for legal witness and testimony. It costs a small fortune to maintain the calibration status as the meter needs to be sent off for certification periodically.

I use a cheap meter that is commonly available in USA Radioshack stores. I imagine there are many similar units offered at various outlets.

It seems consistent day to day but I don't have any idea if it is accurate.

The consistency is what I value and I find it is useful for setting up speakers playback levels.


best regards,
mike

My band had a Triplett SPL meter many years ago.... it was free with any purchase over $2000 and we were there to buy some PA gear so it worked out as a cool freebie. It was listed at $300 retail at the time and was very accurate. We kept it at the sound board because several clubs we played were in towns with noise ordinances and the club owner had a schedule of warnings and fines to the band for SPL violations. We told the sound man it was his pay that would pay the fine.  The police would stand outside the front door and check the SPL and write tickets if the sidewalk level was over a certain amount. The club owners were a bit touchy on that issue. On the plus side, it forced us to play at a reasonable level and that usually sounded really good. 

I do know that Radio Shack sells one and building inspectors and fire marshall's use them to check fire signal device sound levels and write violations based on the results.

I also had an app on my Android phone that was a SPL meter and IIRC it had the weighted averages in the options menu.... of course, I don't really trust a mobile app to be very accurate.....and I deleted it. 

I bought an app from JL Audio for my iPhone. It works pretty good.

Alright, thanks everyone, looks like the omnitronic is good enough then, it's the only one the shop had along with a much larger model with USB and data storage for plotting, but that's total overkill for my use.