Had the family over to do a sound test. Thought I would find the quietest of mods for my Notos. All I got was a little confused or got a little information clarified. I'll describe what we did and attach the results. Looking for input on doing a better test structure please.
A gentleman was very kind and sent me a box full of various mods for the Notos. Our goal was to see which one was the quietest. What we found was that most of the mods are very close to each other in decbal readings. We had a decibal meter directly under the exit of the mod. and then one 10 feet forward and 10 feet to the right. The third position was 10 feet back and 10 feet to the left. All were on the same plain as the Notos. I always thought the stock unit was fairly quiet, I have some hearing issues. But I put the first test subject on and took a shot. I definitely heard less "noise" from the Notos. This noise reduction turned out to be repeated with all my family members but for different mods. However, the decibal readings were all within points of each other. A bit confusing. We thought there would be a noticable, varifiable reduction on the meters, and there really wasn't. Are mods just modifying different tones, and we hear or don't hear a tone based on what that specific mods eliminates from its sound production?
Our goal was not to pick at any manufacturer of named product out there. We truly were just looking for quietest. So hopefully no one will take offense.
Our summary is that all the mods produced similar decibal readings. However, each mod reduced various portions of noise produced with each shot. So it came down to who was listening to it and what they heard versus what they considered loud. It seems to all be based on subjectivity.
The variables we had: 4-5 mph tail wind, turkey gobbling, driving cars about 50 yards away, noisey Jays, more stuff along those lines.
We did notice that if we waited for a reduction of wind, there was definitely and effect in the decibal reading, slightly higher.
What I have come up with for a new test approach is to get a 4 inch ABS or the like T. Place it in a box and surround it with insulation. Place the decibal meter in the bottom opening of the T and shoot through the T to hopefully get a more consistent and repeatable reading with much reduced outside interference.
Would really appreciate any and all suggestions in an effort to clear up the confusion. Is there really very little difference between decibel readings of mods? Or, was our first test flawed due to the variables?
Will have to work on the attachment. Doesn't seem to want to attach as an Excel or snipped from Excel. Will post the results as soon as I figure this out.
Thanks