IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
OK, OK, I know. The general consensus has been that the Spyder horn is a wimpy-a** non-screamer! 
hyea:hyea:
So, I decided it's time to get serious about buying something better and started doing some research about the various brands and models and searched for comments here on Spyderlovers. And then I think. Hey, I've got a Stebel Nautilus on my ATV. That's a horn that many rave about so maybe what I should do is see if I can get a somewhat real world comparison between the Spyder horn and the Stebel. That will give me a good idea just how wimpy the Spyder horn is.
To do the comparison I need a sound pressure level meter of some sort so I install the Smart Tools Sound Meter app on my Android phone. I first measured the sound of both horns from 5 ft away, but when both showed 90 db I did some checking. My phone microphone apparently pegs out at 90 db, so those tests were no good. I need to get some distance between the horns and phone so I park my ATV on the edge of the street across from my driveway and park my '13 RT alongside it. My wife stood in the driveway, about 30 feet away, and noted the meter readings while I blasted the horns. And the result?
The Stebel Nautilus on the ATV registered 83 db. And the Spyder horn? 81 db, not that great a difference. I repeated the test 3 or 4 times and the readings remained constant. If you research sound pressure levels and human perception of sound you will find that a 3 db difference represents a doubling of the sound intensity at the source. But, and this is the kicker, the human ear does not readily perceive a difference of 1 or 2 db, and barely perceives a difference at 3 db change. It takes a 10 db increase in sound pressure for the ear to perceive it as being twice as loud.
But loudness isn't everything. Pitch of the sound is a significant factor in how well people hear the horn. And you have to balance loudness with desired hearing distance. A nautical horn is a lower pitch than car horns, and does not seem to be as loud, but the sound carries farther. A high pitched sound may be more attention getting, but it fades with distance faster, and doesn't penetrate glass and metal as well as low pitched horns. We've all heard the boom-boom of a loud car stereo stopped next to us. But do we hear the high notes? No.
What we need is a greater amount of objective data on how loud after market horns like the Stebel really are compared to the Spyder horn, as well as how attention getting the sounds are. My conclusion right now. The Spyder horn isn't really all that bad, although when I blasted it out on the open road it sounded kind of wimpy.
Am I going to replace the horn on my RT? Most likely only if I can come up with a way to mount a set of truck type trumpet horns.
hyea:hyea:So, I decided it's time to get serious about buying something better and started doing some research about the various brands and models and searched for comments here on Spyderlovers. And then I think. Hey, I've got a Stebel Nautilus on my ATV. That's a horn that many rave about so maybe what I should do is see if I can get a somewhat real world comparison between the Spyder horn and the Stebel. That will give me a good idea just how wimpy the Spyder horn is.
To do the comparison I need a sound pressure level meter of some sort so I install the Smart Tools Sound Meter app on my Android phone. I first measured the sound of both horns from 5 ft away, but when both showed 90 db I did some checking. My phone microphone apparently pegs out at 90 db, so those tests were no good. I need to get some distance between the horns and phone so I park my ATV on the edge of the street across from my driveway and park my '13 RT alongside it. My wife stood in the driveway, about 30 feet away, and noted the meter readings while I blasted the horns. And the result?
The Stebel Nautilus on the ATV registered 83 db. And the Spyder horn? 81 db, not that great a difference. I repeated the test 3 or 4 times and the readings remained constant. If you research sound pressure levels and human perception of sound you will find that a 3 db difference represents a doubling of the sound intensity at the source. But, and this is the kicker, the human ear does not readily perceive a difference of 1 or 2 db, and barely perceives a difference at 3 db change. It takes a 10 db increase in sound pressure for the ear to perceive it as being twice as loud.
But loudness isn't everything. Pitch of the sound is a significant factor in how well people hear the horn. And you have to balance loudness with desired hearing distance. A nautical horn is a lower pitch than car horns, and does not seem to be as loud, but the sound carries farther. A high pitched sound may be more attention getting, but it fades with distance faster, and doesn't penetrate glass and metal as well as low pitched horns. We've all heard the boom-boom of a loud car stereo stopped next to us. But do we hear the high notes? No.
What we need is a greater amount of objective data on how loud after market horns like the Stebel really are compared to the Spyder horn, as well as how attention getting the sounds are. My conclusion right now. The Spyder horn isn't really all that bad, although when I blasted it out on the open road it sounded kind of wimpy.
Am I going to replace the horn on my RT? Most likely only if I can come up with a way to mount a set of truck type trumpet horns.
