If you're running a venue, club, pub or you're a gigging band and need to keep track of the decibels to make sure you're sticking to the regulations and keeping the volume at a healthy level, then a decibel meter is an absolute essential.
dB Meters: Direct Feedback
With a decibel meter, you can immediately get a measure of the loudness of the sound in a venue or other space to make sure that the volume isn't in danger of causing any hearing damage. Some decibel meters can just be plugged into the direct audio output of your audio gear to measure the dB level via a set of LED indicators or a display screen, while other more portable models can take the form of a kind of watch with a built-in sound meter.
Portable vs. Installation Sound Meters
There is a big difference between portable meters and meters designed for more permanent, fixed installations. A portable decibel meter is designed to check that the volume level in a venue or any other space is lying within the local regulations. Fixed decibel meters or sound meters are designed to monitor the sound level running through your equipment to protect the system from overloading and prevent gear like speakers from getting blown.
The Dangers of Loud Music & The Importance of Sound Meters
It's always going to be tempting to keep pushing the volume from loud to louder and then loudest, but at some point there has to be a limit - and for good reason. Once your hearing is damaged, that damage usually can't be undone, leaving music lovers or just innocent bystanders with hearing problems for the rest of their lives. So, it just makes sense for sound engineers, DJs and music makers to keep an eye on the level meters of their audio gear and make sure the volume is kept to a healthy level - they'll also be protecting their gear in the long run as well, since no one wants a blown sound system.
Get the right Gear to Limit the Noise Levels
Besides a dB and sound meter, you can also use a meter microphone, which is specially designed to measure the loudness in a space with acute accuracy. To prevent painful, piercing feedback, it's also worth kitting out your system with a feedback destroyer. And to keep tabs on a simple audio setup, you could add a speaker management system.
Frequently Asked Questions About Decibel Meters
How many decibels (dB) is too little or too much?
At live concerts, the level can often reach 110dB, which is extremely loud. Noise gets painful at around the 140dB mark and any louder can cause permanent hearing damage. However, even lower noise levels experienced over a long period of time can cause hearing damage. For more info, see our blog, Headphones & Hearing Damage: The Facts.
What decibel level is normal speech?
Normal human speech reaches around 60dB.
How can you measure the dB level of sound?
You can measure the level of a sound with... a sound meter or decibel meter, which will indicate the sound level in decibels (dB).
How do decibel meters work?
Decibel meters measure the volume level in a space via an internal microphone which registers the sound pressure level over a certain period of time and then indicates the decibel level detected via a display screen or LED indicators.