Decibel X:dB Sound Level Meter 4+

Great app!!

The free version is likely the best app of its kind, and highly recommended. The only strike against it is that the premium version is subscription based, and a fairly expensive one at $4.99 per month. I suspect that for most casual users, this is far too expensive…I certainly wouldn’t pay that. I can understand subscriptions for something like a newspaper or periodical magazine, where content is changing, but not for something that provides an essentially fixed functionality. This kind of app is particularly suitable to one time purchase of premium functionality.

SUGGESTION TO DEVELOPERS
Create a reasonably priced onetime purchase option If you keep a subscription, reduce the cost considerably. You may be surprised how many more paid users you’d have, if you do this.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your kind words. We are glad that you like our App.
If you want to find the one-time paid version.
You can find "Decibel X PRO: dBA Noise Meter" on AppStore or via this link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/decibel-x-pro-dba-noise-meter/id1257651611

My usage of the app

Provided the app is calibrated properly when you set it up, it’s pretty accurate in isolated areas like calibrating a turn table or checking a receiver for accuracy. However, a bunch of unrelated sounds events taking place at the same time throws the app off. Instead of giving you an average for the space you’re in, it just fluctuates based on individual sounds it picks up. For example, I value my hearing because I’m a musician. When I go to loud concerts I wear earplugs.

At a recent Korn concert I wanted to decide if I was far enough away that I wouldn’t damage my hearing or leave the venue with ringing ears. I tried the app, but I got numbers from people talking behind me, the band, clapping, so I wasn’t able to get an accurate reading. The meter jumped from 50db to 80db at a Korn concert where I was about 100 feet from the stage. While it wasn’t hitting over 100db or heaven forbid 120db, I chose to wear earplugs and I was the only one in my group to not leave with ringing ears.

In summary, the app is really great for isolated spaces, but it has trouble handling multiple sounds from multiple sources and giving you a stable number to work with. I don’t recommend it for harm reduction at a concert event, but I do recommend it for checking your speaker levels, calibrating your receiver, or anything audio related that is in a quiet testing area.

Developer Response ,

Hi 👋 ! Thank you for your detailed feedback with both pros & cons of your experience with Decibel X. For you case, we consider that the issue possibly was due to the far distance to our app, and thus led to the incorrect measurement. We love to know more about your problem, could you share with us via the email contact@skypaw.com. Thank you for taking your precious time and reviewing our app.

Very Good, With One Quibble...

I’ve used a couple sound meter apps over the last few years along with a commercial quality sound level meter. I would put this up there with the best of what I’ve used. This review is for the purchased, “pro” version of the software. That I can pay $4.99 and use the processing capabilities of my iPhone in leu of spending $150+ on a professional, stand-alone meter blows my mind.

The level of detail shown in the various portions of the screen offer a broad range of information to the user. You get both numerical and graph output as well as dial analog output of minimum and maximum readings, duration, etc.

One quibble is that when I pause the meter and reset it, it asks if I really want to, which is okay, but immediately restarts the sound reading, even if I don’t want it to. Also, I’d like for a reset to take the meter back to “0”. It restarts at the prior average. I would like to see these twin issues corrected, and I’d then give the app 5 stars.