A sound pressure level meter is a great tool for promoting safe monitoring volumes, but it's also handy for making mix decisions. We all hear relative volumes between instruments, vocals, and other sound sources differently as we adjust the overall volume. If a background vocal is too quiet in one song versus another song that was mixed differently, a meter allows me to compare the two at matched volumes. Making these kinds of decisions for recalled mixes is also easier once level matched. My beloved Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (33-2055), which I bought three decades ago, is at the end of its life. I truly appreciated its functional design and affordable accuracy (within 100 Hz to 1 kHz). Looking for a suitable replacement, I purchased three contemporary handheld units. The Galaxy Audio CM-170 Sound Pressure Level Meter <galaxyaudio.com> is the most expensive at $360, as it's sold as a professional tool. It also provides the most features, including data-logging, date/time clock, aux output, companion PC software, and continuous operation under USB power. My unit was within its published specification for accuracy (±1.4 dB) according to ANSI and IEC standards. I also own a Galaxy Audio Check Mate SPL Meter Calibrator, and the CM-170's reading was only 0.1 dB off from the Check Mate's 94 dB and 114 dB settings at 1 kHz. (Admittedly, I can't vouch for the accuracy of the calibrator itself.) Additionally, I measured tones from a speaker while adjusting the level of the tone generator. The CM-170 tracked the changes in level, staying within a dB all the way down to 40 dB, but I didn't check the CM-170's published 20 Hz to 8 kHz frequency response. Notably, the CM-170 has an easy calibration procedure if it ever drifts in the future. At only $28, the DURFICST SL720C was the next most expensive handheld I bought. It read 0.8 dB too high, both at 94 dB and 114 dB SPL. At lower volumes using test tones from a speaker, the DURFICST performed with a consistent offset of 0.7 to 1.0 dB down to 40 dB. Maybe I got lucky, or maybe its claimed ±1.5 dB accuracy is true across all examples of this low-cost meter? The $24 Tadeto SL720 reported readings 0.2 dB below the Check Mate's two settings, and at lower volumes, the offset increased to 1.6 dB at 40 dB SPL, still within its claimed ±2.0 dB accuracy. My assumption is that the SL720C and SL720 are made in the same factory and then sold under various brand-names. (They're also available on Alibaba for less than $10 each, before shipping.) The SL720C has a larger color display that's significantly easier to read, and crucially, the display includes a multi-segment "VU meter" style graph. Even when these handhelds are set for slow mode, a three-digit number that's changing every second isn't very helpful in determining the volume of dynamic sounds like music. On the other hand, an analog-style graph is much easier to decipher and equate to music volume. Unfortunately, there's no way to zoom into a particular range on the SL720C's analog graph, so the full range of 30 to 130 dB is always shown. Which brings me back to the CM-170. Its display is an old-school monochrome, back-lit LCD panel, but its analog graph is the most useful as it can be set for various ranges, and the graph has demarcations that are easy to discern. The CM-170's numerical display is also the biggest of the bunch, and despite Slow mode being too fast (0.5 s) for my liking, the digits are highly legible within reasonable viewing angles. Understandably, the CM-170 is my favorite of the three, but it better be, considering its 12× cost.