REED Instruments R8060 Sound Level Meter with Bargraph

I've learned a lot about sound by using this meter. Speakers are always measured by their volume at one meter with one watt of input. That's commonly between 85 and 90 dB, but I was surprised to measure how dramatically that volume decreases by the time I get to my sofa. I particularly like its ability to lock on either the minimum or maximum volume when I'm monitoring traffic and trying to decrease the noise that makes it into our house.

In a hurry, I compared 3 meters. A not comprehensive table of the results is as following:Tadeto SL720 Reed R8060 TopTes TS-501B----------------------------------------------max dB-A68.1 68.1 68.871.7 69.3 70.072.9 71.6 71.279.0 75.9 77.880.1 80.3 77.7116.1 96.9 102.7max dB-C78.0 76.7 75.882.7 78.8 78.886.5 85.4 84.9When the noise is within 60-90 dB, the 3 meters produce about the same results, when outside of that range, I have doubts that the meters are precise. Reed feels to be closer to reality out of three, but price wise it's 6x more.Somehow I liked TopTes the most, probably because it's not too far from Reed, but the interface is much better. On the downside, when it's quiet, TopTes shows 35 dB, when in reality it's probably 10 dB or so.

I'm very pleased with my Reed R8060 Sound Meter. It does exactly what it is designed to do, accurately measure sound levels. If you want to be very accurate you need to buy the Reed R8090 Sound Level Calibrator. My R8060 meter came within specs but I was able to improve its accuracy with the R8090. If you want to be super accurate industry best practice is to calibrate every time you are going to use the sound meter then check the calibration again after taking measurements.

The R8060 sound level meter is very easy to use and very accurate. I use it to measure the sound level in a sheet metal manufacturing shop and has help me very much on knowing what areas are louder than others and implement ear plug use for the safety of all employees. I highly recommend this product for any type of environment.

I'm surprised to find that this meter read 10+dB low suddenly after just 2 years. It was rarely used and has been stored carefully. In an attempt to recalibrate it (since the meter itself still looks brand new) I bought a calibrator and followed the instructions. Unfortunately it won't calibrate as the max adjustment is only 3dB and this meter is more than 10dB off!Very disappointed!

Price OK for a very basic Class 2 meter. Companion calibration tool way too expensive. You can get another brand for half the price elsewhere. Bar graph is worthless. In general, it yields slightly higher, but relatively comparable, dB(A) levels to a cheapo meter that we had, but wasn't "Class 2." If County accepts the data from the Reed meter and enforces the local noise ordinance, it will be well worth the price. In that event, I'll increase rating to 5.

Maybe there is more that goes into this than meets the eye but it does not seem like it is worth $180. Teh battery compartment door is hanging on to dear life. Product arrived with a scuffed up screen indicating it has prob been used before. With the mass production capabilities that exist these days, including the pcb printing and assembly....I just don't see how this is worth what they are selling it for.

Excellent product, would be nice if it had a lanyard strap/ring and if it had something to prevent the windshield from coming off so easily. (Rubber ring at the base?)