Sound Level Meter Sound Recording Terminology

Level Triggering: Events are triggered based on a static threshold

Dynamic Triggering: Events are triggered when sound pressure level (SPL) exceeds background noise by a set offset

SPL: Sound pressure level

Pre-Trigger Time: The number of seconds of sound recorded before the event begins

Minimum Duration: The minimum number of seconds sound must be above the triggering SPL to cause an event to occur

Event Start: The event starts when the SPL (dB) is greater than the trigger level.

Continuation Duration: The maximum number of seconds the SPL can drop below the trigger level without causing the event to stop. (In the figure above, the sound dropped below the trigger level for less than the continuation duration, so the event continued.)

Event Stop: The event ends when the SPL drops below the trigger level and stays there for longer than the continuation duration.

Recording Time: Recordings are stored for the shorter duration of these two: From the time the pre-trigger occurs until

1. Event Stop occurs or
2. Snapshot Time setting is reached

Snapshot Time: The maximum number of seconds the recording will continue after the event begins