It's Valentine's Day! One of the “sweethearts” of our audio tweaking obsession has been the “for better or worse” RS SPL meter. Some of us had thought all was lost when the 33-2050 became unavailable, and we had to start a new relationship with Sears Craftsman. Then we discovered that all our “sweetheart” had done was take time away for a makeover. Still, one must examine the restored relationship to determine where it goes from here.

The previous analog version of the RS SPL meter was model number 33-2050. In early 2004, the analog model released is the 33-4050.

The manual for the 33-4050 states, “… if weighting is set to C, the meter’s frequency response is flat from 32-10,000 Hz (+/- 3 dB). Above 10 kHz, the frequency response of the meter drops off rapidly.”

Has anyone compared the 2050 to the 4050 in usage? Has anyone checked the circuit boards of the 2050 and the 4050 to determine if some of the DIY modifications suggested for the 2050 are still applicable to the 4050? Has anyone seen a new compensation table with values for the 33-4050?

It seems this new version of the RS SPL meter is being sold out about as fast as they become available.


[This message has been edited by bestbang4thebuck (edited February 14, 2004).]

What's with Radio Shack? About the only thing you could trust and they go and "improve" that also. Has anyone noticed that RS introduced their "Fusion" line of cables and then proceeded to not produce any equipment worth paying this extra on cables to connect it with? Oh I get it: "Let me sell you our best cables, however we have nothing in the store worth buying them for." And what has happened to Mystical Audio's Linaeum tweeters now that RS appears to not use them anymore? I've asked these questions at my local RS but contrary to their slogan, they did not have answers.