eS528L Decibel Meter and Recorder by ennoLogic – Digital Sound Level Meter and Noise Logger – Max/Min/Hold, 30-130 dBA Range, Updated Software

I was nervous about purchasing this due to the many negative reviews about problems getting it working with a laptop and the software. I am running a modern laptop with the latest version of Windows and it was a breeze to set up. I downloaded the software from the manufacturer's website and installed it from there. Also easy.I needed the record over time feature and it is great. It allows me to record noise emanated by my business over time to ensure I am not causing a noise problem for neighbors. Downloading a full set of data just takes a few minutes and the graph view allows me to see when the problem times are.Would purchase again.

Buy a calibration set. Just do it. And no, you won't find anything at the same price point that will perform any better (I tried). I actually really like this thing, it's (after NIST cals done) very accurate and has about 15-16 hours of recording time at the very highest data rate- more if you lower it some. The display is easy to read, the buttons work well, and it's intuitive to use. The ding in the rating comes from the SOFTWARE. The software is AWEFUL, counterintuitive, and generally difficult to use. It was obviously rushed to market and has not been maintained.Just export the entire data set to Excel and process it by hand, you're far better off (Good luck getting the comms going!-- you'll get it working eventually, but be prepared for a bit of a struggle). One piece of advice: use a very high quality USB cable. Don't use junk cables, or the one that came with it. It's picky.

DEMERIT.1) 9V BATTERY FAST CONSUMPTION RATE.2) RECORDING SOFTWARE OPERATION IS A LITTLE COMPLICATE.MERITS.1) PRECISE RECORDING CONTROL RESULTS.

I bought the EnnoLogic Decibel Meter and Recorder – Digital Sound Level Meter, Noise Logger and Tester to document my neighbors music in MY home. It will not show the sub woofer frequencies that are the problem. The app on my android OS 4.0 has a better frequency/decibel response.The controls on the meter are fairly straight forward. I upgraded the USB cable.If you do not have or purchase the 9VDC adapter (which is not included), you'll be using a boat load of 9V transistor batteries, remember those.The Smart Logger program needs to be brought into the 21st century with connectivity and sharing.

The item was very well packaged; instructions were very easy to understand. The fast and slow sensing speed is a nice feature especially for short loud sounds. Also the 'hold' feature is nice since it captures and holds only the hightest decible reading during the given duration.

This meter functions OK as a standalone, handheld SPL meter, but it's supposed to have the capability to record SPL information over a period of time and download it to a PC for later analysis. This is a total failure. The software that comes with the eS528L, a package called SmartLogger, is garbage, this morning, for no particular reason, the SmartLogger software decided that the eS528L that I've been using for the last six months, was a new device. I played along and added the device to the system and lo and behold, found that I had a new device with a different hardware ID that was apparently some kind of temperature and humidity meter.I've played all of the usual Windows games, removing the device from the system and adding it again, restarting the system, uninstalling the SmartLogger software, restarting the system and then installing it again and nope, it's still showing up as a temperature and humidity meter. If you need a standalone SPL meter that *doesn't* have a recording function you can get one for about $50 less than the eS528L costs and save yourself some money. If you need a device that can record SPL information for later analysis then you need to find another device because the eS528L is no good.

The unit itself seemed very good as a decibel meter. I had bought two different meters at the same time and both gave almost identical readings in a couple of different sound settings. The problem I had with this one was being able to start the recording process.The software downloaded from both the little disk included and from the website no problem (I tried both downloads because of the problem I was having). After the software was opened on my laptop.... I could not get the software to connect to the unit. I tried all three of my USB ports, a different USB cord than the one that came with the unit, etc... but I could not get the software to "find" the unit. Without "talking" to the software, I could not get the record button on the unit to do anything. I tried for over two hours and then gave up. The second meter that I had purchased was a little difficult to get into record mode, but I did get it to do it in about 10 minutes.I like the features of this unit for just using as a hand held meter.... but, if you need to record the "session", I would be leery.

Cost and external functions (outputs for remote sensing/USB charting) were a factor in this purchase. This meter was compared in a lab environment to a calibrated meter and read the same sound levels. All switch functions work. The software has a nice simple report feature. Service was very good and local (in Oregon). I had a connection issue and received an answer back by next mornings mail. The software is downloadable from their site and works.I don't expect to have any problems with it and would recommend it to friends or colleagues.