SPL Meters Question?

Hi, I was a little confused as to where to post this, but finally decided to post it here . Is there any difference in terms of functional additions between a $50 SPL Meter and a $300 one? Thanks.

Depends on which two meters we are talking about, and what you plan to do with it. The more expensive one is likely more accurate and probably has extra features, such as Leq, memory, USB connection, B, D and flat weightings, and things like that. You might or might not need those. If you go up just a bit more (around US$ 450) then you can get one that also does spectrum analysis (RTA) and other things, which I find very useful. One of my meters is a Phonic PAA-3, which is in that price range, and I find very useful for both rough acoustic measurements and also for live sound. But other folks might never use those features, so it would be overkill to buy a meter like that if you all you need to do is check pure SPL levels. So it all depends on what you need it for. - Stuart -

Thanks for helping :) There are plenty of cheap (standard) ones ranging from $10 to $50 , like anything on this page: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_kw=Digital+Sound+meter And there is the expensive one in question ($319) : http://www.amprobe.com/amprobe/usen/Environmental-Test/Sound/SM-20-A.htm?PID=73336 I'm so tempted to get this one as it's the only one sold just next to my neighbourhood, so there is no waiting for delivery. My purpose is to measure room sound level to be able to decide amount of isolation, and also to do necessary future tests relating to studio and rooms acoustic treatment.

And there is the expensive one in question ($319) :

To be totally honest, there doesn't seem to be anything special about that meter to justify the price. The features are pretty much standard, ordinary, common features, and the specifications are roughly what you'd expect from a meter costing 1/4 the price on e-bay. - Stuart -

How important/critical is it to have a data logging feature with a software in a sound level meters?

To be honest, even on my meters that do have that feature, I very seldom use it. When it comes to treating the room, something like REW is a lot more useful than a meter, and has way better logging. The few times that I have used data logging is when I have gone to customer's locations with just a meter on hand, and been asked unexpectedly to take measurements, while needing to keep track of those for later analysis. So it can be useful, but I really wouldn't buy a meter just for that feature. - Stuart -

Got my hands on one finally from Extech, but should I really calibrate this thing. I'll be stuck at this point if it requires additional tools to calibrate it :?

Naah, it probably doesn't need calibrating. It will most likely only be off by a couple of dB, maximum (if any). Not a big deal for your purposes. You'd only need to calibrate it if you were going to take readings for legal purposes, or precision technical purposes. Not really necessary for what you are doing. - Stuart -