SW-525A Sound Level Meter Tester 30-130db Large Screen Red LCD Display Wall Hanging Type Decibel Noise Measuring with Alarm (Sound Level Meter)

This device is surprisingly well made. I've installed this in my woodshop to monitor sound levels throughout the day. Between the saws and the CNC, it can get pretty loud on the shop floor. While I use hearing protection regularly, the tester can also indicate trouble with one of the tools if the noise suddenly increases.What I like:1. The display is large and bright and can easily be read from a distance.2. It responds rapidly to sound changes. It seems to update it's reading about every second.3. It's accurate at loud sound levels. This is a place where a lot of less expensive testers don't perform.4. Mounts easily on the wall and is powered by a standard USB C connector - The cord is included.5. It has the ability to adjust internal settings based on the model you have.6. Documentation is clear and easy to follow.Things to note:1. It comes with a USB A to USB C cord, but no power supply. You will need to provide an old school USB power supply but I used an ancient Apple charger supply and it worked fine.2. There are different versions. Some will log the data (for compliance) and some have a wired alarm that can signal in another location that the sound has exceeded a threshold that you set.Would I buy again or recommend?Absolutely. It's a single purpose device, but performs well and is a welcome addition to protect my hearing.

This DB Meter works as I expected it would. As far as it being accurate out of the box, I don't have any concerns about that. I don't have any other DB readings to compare this unit too. But I do like having it in my music room to monitor my volume. It's also great to set the volume of a backing track to match the volume of my guitar so either one won't overpower the other. I also use it to know what volume is "acceptable" so my wife can still watch TV in the other room. It's not a "random number generator". As the volume of sound it's reading fluctuates, the meter detects the changes and reacts accordingly. The manufacturer also made changes based on other reviews changing the location of the switches and plug input, making it possible to place it on a desk or surface if you so choose. It can also be hung on a wall. Now that I have it, I use it all the time.

The screen is very bright and clear and visible from a good distance (50 feet plus) which is what I was looking for. Also, it seems quite accurate when compared to a calibrated decibel meter. It was within 1 dB when compared. My only concern was with the update frequency of the screen. I wish the unit would give an option of response speed or averaging. The current screen picks up quick loud noises rather than smoothing out the reading, so the display is constantly bouncing around from ambient (~55dB) to 80-90 if someone coughs, sneezes, burps, etc. With this feature I would give the unit all 5 stars.

Works good

We are systematically training our LOUD children to be more quiet! We set this on the wall and the alarm to the softest and shortest settings, with an 85 decibel threshold. After one day we significantly quieted down our home. I read reviews and expected the 2 foot cord issue, so I did go to the dollar store and bought a 6 foot cord and plug. Works great for our needs.

Very happy with this purchase. It gives me a great reference point. Not really needing it to be dead on accurate.

The size is nice, and it works as advertised, but I find its limitations to be too annoying for the price so I'll be returning it.First, it's wired-only (no batteries), which is fine, but the connection for the USB is on the side so if you hang it on the wall there's no way to minimize the fact that there's a USB cable sticking out the side of it. Put the cable connector on the bottom if it's supposed to hang on the wall. Of course that would make it harder to put on a shelf, but if it's going on a shelf then the cable connection should be on the back. The side is the worst possible choice. Put one out that takes batteries, and preferably good old AAs and not the ubiquitous crappy Li-ion batteries everywhere today (I'm probably in the minority on that one).It's advertised as being "fast" and it is. Too fast. It's constantly blinking numbers so it's a distraction. To be fair they all do this (because they're probably all the same damn thing with different names) but I'd love for there to be a "slow" switch.Another way I find this distracting is that if the dB being shown is two digits then it shows a one-digit decimal. I'd like to be able to turn that off and have it just show integers. No one using this thing cares about 1/10th of a decimal. If you did you'd get a real SPL meter.Honestly the prices being charged for these things are absurd. Should be $30 tops - and that's a stretch. It's a microcontroller, a mic with some processing, some big LEDs and some buttons - and the buttons barely even do anything.

As a professional musician, I play guitar for several hours each day. After seeing one of these at a buddies house, I questioned why I never used one. It’s amazing how loud my amplifiers can get without me knowing. Having a visual indicator to tell me to dial it back a little is very helpful. This meter has been working well in the 3 months I’ve owned it and I expect it to keep working for years ahead.Only complaint I have would be the refresh rate and colors. It would be nice to have a higher refresh rate display that updates a little faster and the ability to change the brightness and colors of the numbers.