Software or real Sound Level Meter?

Hi, to everyone :) 1. Are there downloadable software for sound level metering, are they affective like hardware (RadioShack)? What are the basics to understand before using them? Can you recommend free ones that are effective, popular and easy to use. 2. I remeber there was a famous isolation material provider whose site on the internet demonstrate some test sound files with their DB levels. Which will help decide on isolation material. Can anyone refere me to that site please. I can't remember it? Thanks.

Yes, there is software that emulates sound level meters. No it is not effective. The only good way of measuring sound levels accurately is with a proper hardware meter, designed for the purpose. Software for emulating a sound level meter is pretty useless without the correct microphone, interface and calibration. That's why hardware meters are sold complete: they have a suitable mic built-in, the circuitry is designed for that specific mic and for accurate measurement of sound levels, and the entire unit is correctly calibrated at the factory. Even if you do get "sound level meter" software for your computer, and a good acoustic measurement mic, and a good interface, then you have spent far more money than you would have on buying a simple sound level meter designed for the job. (Plus, you'd also need to buy a calibrator, to be able to set up the whole thing properly. Without calibration, the whole system is useless.) Even worse are the apps you can download for smart phones: The apps might work wonderfully, but there's no way on this planet that the 10 cent microphone and the 50 cent audio interface circuit on a typical smart phone can provide the software with a usable, meaningful signal. Plus, you'd still need to calibrate it... There is at least one company that does provide a proper external mic, calibrator and software for the iPhone, and it is rumored to work well, but it costs more than a basic sound level meter... So your best bet is simply to buy a meter. They cost less than US$ 100 new, and you can find good ones for under US$ 50 on eBay.

2. I remeber there was a famous isolation material provider whose site on the internet demonstrate some test sound files with their DB levels. Which will help decide on isolation material.

There are several manufacturers that provide audio test files for help in deciding on acoustic treatment, but none that I'm aware of that provide files for deciding on isolation materials. I'm not even sure how you would use such a file, even if it did exist. Isolation and treatment are not the same. In fact, they are opposites. You can, indeed, play a sound inside a room and analyze the results to see what treatment you need, but I have never heard of a sound that you can play inside a room that will tell you what type of isolation you need. - Stuart -

Thanks really for your response! I have some other related questions, please: 1.Is it a must or necessary to provide the exact objective levels (dB) of both, sound loudness of my mixing room AND the level of quietness required in the next (multi purpose) room, before someone can suggest anything to me for my isolation? 2.Instead of ordering a Sound Level Meter from the net and wait for it to arrive (which I will eventually do), can't I just alternatively try to find people whose situations are similar to mine, have similar loudness level in the mixing room and requiring the same quietness for their next room, and have the same previous construction, then copy their isolation materials and method? What do you think?

You can estimate the amount of isolation that you need, based on "intelligent guessing" and subjective listening. If you describe the type of music that you will be recording (what instruments, what genre, how many musicians together, etc.) then we can help you estimate how loud you will be inside your studio. There might be local municipal regulations that set the limit on how loud you are permitted to be outside your studio (I'm not sure about how things work in Saudi Arabia, but I imagine that there are legal limits on noise). The difference between those two numbers will give you an idea of how much isolation you need. (If there are no regulations like that, then if you describe the surroundings in the place where your studio will be, then that might help to guess at a suitable level that you need to attain.) And if you suspect that your isolation problems will be the other way (noise coming into your studio from outside and disturbing your recording sessions, rather than the noise you make disturbing people outside) then once again, if you describe the typical noises that you hear in that location then we can help you to estimate how loud they might be. There are general "rules of thumb" about how loud certain sounds are. That would give you a rough idea of how much isolation you need, but it would still be good to confirm that with real numbers, once you get your meter. - Stuart -

If you describe the type of music that you will be recording (what instruments, what genre, how many musicians together, etc.) then we can help you estimate how loud you will be inside your studio.

Type of music: Rap/Hip Hop, Trance, Electronic, experimental (The music tend to have a lot of low frequencies coming form synth bass and kick drums and Percussions). Instrument: Software Synth, Guitar and Violin (no live drums at all) Musicians performing: always one person Singers Performing : 1 Local municipal regulations for sound level: None

if you describe the surroundings in the place where your studio will be, then that might help to guess at a suitable level that you need to attain

As you can see from the picture below, the plan is to create my mixing & Recording room within the basement (7*10 meters), on the right side of it. Therefore, there will be three objects facing the outside where sound can escape. They are as follows: 1. The basement window: (see picture below) There is a distance of two meters behind that window outside, then there is a high wall separating between my house and my neighbor house. When you stand within this two meter distance (just behind the basement window) you can tell that there is a music been played but you can't hear details of the music. It's way below speaking level. As for sound coming into the basement through that window, it's just the footsteps and screams of kids playing and running within the two meter distance mentioned above. The most important thing for me is to stop sound going to the outside. 2. The two future walls forming the room (See picture). These are separating the new room from the rest of my basement according to plan. 3. The door of the new room As for the rest of the basement space, it's going to be used as a multi- purpose room (socializing activities maybe). Again, the main concern here is to stop sound, especially low frequencies, produced in the new mixing room, from leaking to the rest of the basement. I hope this can give enough idea to get help. Thanks

I hope I've provided the required stuff. Please tell me if you need anything more ?