Public Measurement Library

Environment

Music Nightlife · Hifi Listening Room

LAFmin

58.3 dB

LCeq

84.6 dB

LZeq

85.2 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

A high-quality Hi-Fi system can make music feel remarkably present — but how loud are we actually listening when we turn the volume up for a truly involving experience? This measurement was taken during a listening session of Charlie Haden’s The Montreal Tapes: with Paul Bley and Paul Motian at a deliberately high playback level. The result was powerful and engaging, although still below the level I would consider realistic for recreating the scale and dynamics of a live performance. Beyond evaluating the system, this measurement asks a different question: what level of sound exposure are we accumulating during serious music listening? SPL, listening duration and musical dynamics all matter when considering exposure; a short peak and an hour spent listening at an elevated average level are very different things. For DSR, this is where Hi-Fi and measurement meet: not simply asking whether a system sounds good, but measuring the conditions under which we experience it. The same approach extends across playback setup, resonance, speed, vibration, room behaviour and acoustic level — turning subjective listening observations into something that can also be documented and compared. Source: Eversolo A6 - HiRes 192KHz Preamplifier: Audio Research SP20 Power Amplifiers: Manley Snapper Speakers: Proac D28

Environment

Streets Roads · Urban Street

LAFmin

62.5 dB

LCeq

83.8 dB

LZeq

87.1 dB

Calibration

Calibrated

Quality

Device Calibrated

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

A beautiful view doesn’t necessarily come with a quiet soundtrack. This one-minute measurement, taken from London Bridge while looking towards Tower Bridge, captures the acoustic reality behind one of London’s iconic views: traffic, people, the city in motion and the constant urban background all blending together. Just one minute standing still — how loud does London sound when you actually measure it?

Environment

Streets Roads · Urban Street

LAFmin

57.5 dB

LCeq

83.2 dB

LZeq

85.1 dB

Calibration

Calibrated

Quality

Device Calibrated

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

An 11-minute walk from St Paul’s to Monument on an unusually quiet day. Even in the heart of London, the soundscape isn’t always dominated by noise. Footsteps, distant traffic, occasional voices and passing activity come and go as the route moves through different streets. This measurement captures something easily overlooked: the quieter side of a major city, and how its sound changes simply by walking through it.

Environment

Construction · Roadworks

LAFmin

86.5 dB

LCeq

95.8 dB

LZeq

96.1 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

A short SPL Reference measurement capturing the noise produced by a vibratory rammer compacting the ground during roadworks. Its small size is deceptive: the combination of the engine, mechanical vibration and repeated impact with the ground creates a strong, persistent sound at close range. This measurement captures a brief real-world exposure from the perspective of someone passing or standing near the works. Environment: Urban roadworks Sound source: Vibratory rammer / compactor Measurement type: Real-world construction noise

Environment

Construction · Building Construction

LAFmin

64.6 dB

LCeq

80.9 dB

LZeq

81.5 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

How Loud Is Setting Up a Scaffold? It is an everyday sight on a city street — but how much noise does building a scaffold actually generate? This SPL Reference measurement captures workers assembling scaffolding alongside an urban road. Metal poles and fittings being moved, positioned and struck create repeated sharp impacts, mixed with traffic and the normal background of the city. What makes this sound particularly noticeable is not necessarily a continuous high level, but the succession of sudden metallic peaks interrupting the surrounding ambience. A good example of how an ordinary urban activity can temporarily transform the acoustic character of a street. Environment: Urban street Activity: Scaffold assembly Soundscape: Metallic impacts, construction activity and road traffic Measurement type: Real-world urban / construction noise

Environment

Transport · Metro Station

LAFmin

75.3 dB

LCeq

84.9 dB

LZeq

85.4 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

How Surprisingly Noisy Can an Escalator Be? An escalator may seem like an insignificant source of noise, but how loud does it actually get? This measurement lasts less than a minute, yet after being exposed to noise for much of the journey, the continuous mechanical sound of the escalator feels surprisingly intrusive and annoying. A small, everyday example of how sound level, duration and previous exposure can shape our perception of noise.

Environment

Streets Roads · Pedestrian Street

LAFmin

62.9 dB

LCeq

86.3 dB

LZeq

87.1 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

John Brown

Licence

CC BY 4.0

What does central London actually sound like when you simply walk through it? This short SPL Reference measurement captures a walk around St Paul’s, where traffic, pedestrians, voices and the wider urban background continuously overlap and change as you move through the area. Rather than measuring a single noise source, it records the acoustic experience of moving through one of London’s busiest urban environments — a brief snapshot of the sound levels that form part of everyday city life.

Environment

Food Drink · Coffee Shop

LAFmin

56.9 dB

LCeq

75.7 dB

LZeq

76.1 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

A beautiful coffee shop, a relaxed conversation and some background music — how quiet is “quiet” when we actually measure it? This measurement captures a pleasantly calm café environment during a conversation. Music plays softly in the background, with a noticeable bass presence, while the coffee machine and occasional sounds from customers and the surrounding space create brief changes in level. An interesting example of how a place can feel quiet and comfortable even when its soundscape is far from silent.

Environment

Food Drink · Canteen

LAFmin

63.7 dB

LCeq

85.7 dB

LZeq

85.7 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

A normal lunch break with two colleagues in a busy company canteen. No particularly loud event, no machinery dominating the room, no obvious source of excessive noise — just the usual combination of conversations, movement, cutlery and the constant background of a shared dining space. And yet, the overall sound environment felt surprisingly uncomfortable. This SPL Reference measurement captures an interesting aspect of everyday noise exposure: sometimes it is not a single loud event that matters, but the continuous accumulation of many ordinary sounds happening at the same time.

Environment

Office Work · Open Plan Office

LAFmin

47.2 dB

LCeq

83.8 dB

LZeq

84.0 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

How Loud Is a Fire Alarm Test? Fire alarms are designed to be impossible to ignore. But how loud is one when you are actually standing in the building? This SPL Reference measurement captures a routine fire alarm test in a real indoor environment, recording both the alarm itself and the surrounding sound before and during its activation. The result provides a real-world reference for the sound level and short-term exposure produced by an emergency warning system, rather than a laboratory measurement of the alarm device.

Environment

Nature Outdoors · Urban Park

LAFmin

42.7 dB

LCeq

77.0 dB

LZeq

79.8 dB

Calibration

Calibrated

Quality

Device Calibrated

Contributor

Alex

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Evening Walk — Whitehorse Meadow, London, UK Environmental sound pressure level measurement recorded during an evening walk across Whitehorse Meadow at approximately 8 PM. The measurement captures the changing sound environment experienced while walking through an open urban green space, including the natural background ambience, footsteps and movement, distant road traffic, occasional voices and other human activity, birds and other wildlife, wind and vegetation, and intermittent sounds originating from the surrounding residential and urban environment. Unlike a measurement taken from a fixed position, this recording documents sound exposure while moving through the environment. As the walking route changes the distance and orientation relative to individual sound sources, the measurement provides a representation of the acoustic experience of crossing the park rather than the sound level of one specific location within it. The measurement forms part of the SPL Reference real-world environmental dataset, providing a useful quieter outdoor reference for comparison with streets, railway stations, public transport, workplaces, indoor environments and other everyday soundscapes.

Environment

Transport · Railway Platform

LAFmin

57.2 dB

LCeq

85.6 dB

LZeq

85.8 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Environmental sound pressure level measurement recorded while waiting for approximately 10 minutes on Platform 1 at City Thameslink railway station in central London. The measurement captures the acoustic environment experienced by a passenger during a typical waiting period, including the continuous background noise of the station, ventilation and infrastructure, passenger activity, announcements, and the substantial variations in sound level produced by trains approaching, arriving, stopping, and departing from the platform. The enclosed underground platform environment is particularly relevant to this measurement, as train noise and other transient sounds interact with the reflective surfaces and confined geometry of the station. The approximately 10-minute measurement period provides a useful representation of real-world passenger noise exposure while waiting for a train and forms part of the SPL Reference real-world environmental dataset, allowing comparison with outdoor railway platforms, onboard train journeys, other public transport environments, and everyday urban noise.

Environment

Office Work · Open Plan Office

LAFmin

43.9 dB

LCeq

63.0 dB

LZeq

63.8 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Environmental sound pressure level measurement recorded continuously for approximately one hour in the open-plan office of a large financial institution in London. The measurement captures the typical acoustic environment experienced during everyday office work, including conversations, telephone and video calls, movement through the workspace, keyboards and office equipment, ventilation systems, and the cumulative background sound generated by a large number of people sharing an open space. Unlike measurements dominated by individual high-level events, this recording is intended to document sustained everyday workplace noise exposure. The one-hour duration captures both quieter periods and temporary increases in activity, providing a more representative picture of the changing sound environment experienced by someone working in the space. The measurement forms part of the SPL Reference real-world environmental dataset, providing a reference for comparison with other workplaces, public spaces, transport environments, domestic settings, and urban locations.

Environment

Transport · Train

LAFmin

60.3 dB

LCeq

81.7 dB

LZeq

86.0 dB

Calibration

Calibrated

Quality

Device Calibrated

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Environmental sound pressure level measurement recorded during a typical passenger journey aboard a Thameslink train travelling from Norwood Junction to London Bridge. The measurement captures the changing acoustic environment experienced inside the passenger carriage throughout the journey, including acceleration and braking, continuous rolling and rail noise, track and wheel interaction, changes in speed, station approaches, and the transition from the suburban rail network towards central London. Rather than representing a controlled acoustic test, this recording documents real-world passenger noise exposure during everyday public transport. It provides a reference for comparing typical and peak sound levels encountered during rail travel with measurements collected in other transport systems, public spaces, urban environments, and everyday listening situations.

Environment

Transport · Railway Platform

LAFmin

47.2 dB

LCeq

82.7 dB

LZeq

84.1 dB

Calibration

Calibrated

Quality

Device Calibrated

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Environmental sound pressure level measurement recorded while seated on a bench on Platform 3 at Norwood Junction railway station, while waiting for a train. The measurement captures the everyday acoustic environment experienced by a passenger on the platform, including background station ambience, nearby rail activity, arriving and departing trains, announcements, passenger activity, and intermittent changes in sound level associated with trains moving through or around the station. Unlike an onboard measurement, this recording documents stationary noise exposure in an active railway environment, where relatively quiet background periods can be interrupted by much louder short-duration events. The measurement forms part of the SPL Reference real-world environmental dataset, providing a reference for comparing railway-platform noise with onboard transport, urban environments, public spaces, workplaces, and other everyday sound environments.

Environment

Residential · Home

LAFmin

39.1 dB

LCeq

83.4 dB

LZeq

84.4 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Anonymous

Licence

CC BY 4.0

Environment

Retail Commercial · Outdoor Market

LAFmin

51.1 dB

LCeq

73.9 dB

LZeq

75.1 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

London - Gypsy Hill

Environment

Food Drink · Pub

LAFmin

40.8 dB

LCeq

55.5 dB

LZeq

56.1 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

This measurement was taken during an evening dinner with friends at Funny’s Pub in Sapri, southern Italy. It represents a typical social dining environment rather than a controlled acoustic test: several people were talking around the table while normal restaurant activity continued in the background, including nearby conversations, staff movement, tableware and the general ambience of the venue. The recording is therefore intended as a snapshot of the real-world sound level experienced by a guest during a lively but ordinary evening out. Measurements like this can be useful when comparing everyday leisure environments and understanding how conversational noise, music and room occupancy combine to create the acoustic character of restaurants and pubs.

Environment

Music Nightlife · Nightclub

LAFmin

72.5 dB

LCeq

91.4 dB

LZeq

91.4 dB

Calibration

Uncalibrated

Quality

Indicative

Contributor

Michelangelo Canonico

Licence

CC BY 4.0

This measurement was taken outdoors at night from a residential property located close to Elayon Club Residence, a nearby tourist village where amplified music was being played during the evening. Unlike a measurement taken inside the entertainment venue itself, this recording represents the sound as experienced from the surrounding residential area. The measured level therefore reflects not only the music source, but also the effects of distance, outdoor propagation, local geography and the general nighttime background environment. This type of measurement can provide useful context when documenting how leisure and tourist activities contribute to the acoustic environment beyond the boundaries of the venue itself, particularly during evening and nighttime hours when background sound levels are generally lower.