Development of sound level meter provided with ultra-low SPL measuring function -Creation and evaluation of super-silent spaces-

As is widely known, SPL measurement using sound level meter (SLM) is limited to higher than 30 dBA, because of the self-noise n(x) of condenser microphone (CM). The authors confirmed n(x) is composed of 3 kinds, each of which is stable enough under the condition -20 ~ +50 deg C to eliminate the influence of n(x) by subtracting its energy from the squared input signal in the integration process, as well as to develop new type of SLM with ultra-low SPL measuring function. This is so-called "0-dB SLM" since it enables to measure SPL down to around 0 dB-SPL. The RMS of n(x) is acquired and stored in ROM in advance, by placing CM in the supersilent space or by using dummy microphone with equivalent capacitance before the actual measurements.