- 1). Choose the frequency weight that you would like to monitor. There are two settings that can be selected on your SPL meter. An A-weight setting will monitor a frequency range being produced by the speakers between 500 Hz and 10,000 Hz . A C-weight setting will monitor a full frequency range between 32 Hz and 10,000 Hz. A smaller sound system can be measured with an A-weight setting while larger sound systems should be measured with a C-weight setting. For an example, choose the A-weight range.
- 2). Choose the response time that you would like your SPL meter to display. A slow response time will give you the average SPL of a sound system every few seconds. Choosing a fast response time will show you the peak sound pressure levels in real time. For example, choose a slow response time.
- 3). Mount the SPL meter on a tripod at ear level and in the position that you are listening or mixing from.
- 4). Set the volume of your sound system at unity. Unity is defined as no gain being added or removed from the incoming signal. On a sound board, set the master fader to "0" which is marked halfway up the fader slider.
- 5). Play a test-tone CD through your sound system.
- 6). Watch the screen of the meter as the tone is playing. With the settings chosen in the example, the meter is listening to the volume of the tone across the entire sound spectrum and showing you the average calculated sound level.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -