I saw this item today, and thought it was a funny little toy. Kind of cool that you can get real-time dB-measure in the car, it was not like that in my own days.
But this one includes lots of other stuff (and it is not PG ) that I do not need.
Anyone know of a similar item to mount in the car for real-time dB-measurement like this? Or a program for PC/LapTop that might give the same result? (Not the bloody expensive ones...)
You never heard of Audio Control ??? Thats about a 4 or 5 year old product, and unless you have it calibrated its just a bunch of dancing numbers.
What you should be looking for is a Calibrated SPL meter, They sell these under audio measurement on e-bay by the dozens. And they come with calibration sources, and are usually hand held.
Here try this link for much better instruments for this sort of thing:
I just hate to see you waste all your hard earned money on something that performs poorly, and IMO is for "Show and Tell" < grade school>
Buy the good stuff and get what you need my friend....C
I am really not looking for a "real" meter, I just spotted this item, and I have not seen a "showfactor instrument" before. I thought that it was kinda cool thing (if it worked), that would not be thaaaat accurate - just a point of indicating the status of the dB as the music plays...
When I had serious installs early on the 90s, dB-measurement instruments was rare and expensive. This is why I was so surprised when I saw this link.....
From what I have seen (used), the epic 160/150 is pretty acurrate within about .5 db, as compared to an SA-3055 with the mic at the windsheild. With mics side by side, the reading was much closer usually with in .1 db. This was with a few of those devices in different cars.
I wouldn't discredit them that quickly or call them "dancing numbers only". There is also a voltage display that the SPL display can be switched to, whihc could be handy for cars like mine that don't have a volt gauge in the cluster. That was one reason why I almost bought the Epic-160 over my trunk mounted Epicenter, but decided that the additional cost could be used for a seperate volt meter, and my dash would look much cleaner, with only a knob and LED placed some where on it. I replaced my cig lighter with the knob and LED.
I had a epic 160 and it worked great. I treated the display as more of a novelty than real world numbers. The voltage display was a great added feature as I too had no other means of viewing it. i knida miss it sometimes. I am now a devoted PG fan so a bass cube is now somewhere in my future eventually.
Just display you ticket from the DB drags in a mirror dongle. I will be more impressed with that then a buck fifty nine meter That has no certificate of accuracy or NBS traceable standards linked to it.
Sorry but I am a engineer, and not so easily impressed by 1/2 din magic box's with " Dancing Numbers"
Just display you ticket from the DB drags in a mirror dongle. I will be more impressed with that then a buck fifty nine meter That has no certificate of accuracy or NBS traceable standards linked to it.
Sorry but I am a engineer, and not so easily impressed by 1/2 din magic box's with " Dancing Numbers"
Thanks Cecil, for your advice. I understand your words, and I totally agree with you that only real paper is valid. BUT... In this case, I just saw something that I had not seen before. Just like I mentioned earlier, when I was involved in serious stereo-matters - SPL-meeters where hard to find. So wooops! There is is, a live dB-pointer for the car. I did not need the accurate numbers 100%, I only imagined how it could both be a helpful instrument aswell as showfactor. But if it is just a dancing meter, the meter is no use for me. I do not need the Bass-part I assume, as I already has 5 bass-cubes, I just fancy the spl-numbers...
And NO, I am not that impressed by 1/2 din magic boxes as well. I agree there with you aswell....
) that I do not need. 
That has no certificate of accuracy or NBS traceable standards linked to it. 
