Good uses for a sound pressure meter?

Bakerfoto,

Somehow the other I think that your ears are much better than you the credit you are giving them!

The RS SPL meter is not very sensitive & it is quite flawed in that the freq. response is much tapered off owing to the cheap components & "incorrect" bandwidths used in the design. I'm sure that you know that there is a correction factor to be used with the RS *analog* SPL meter. Here is the link:
http://www.danmarx.org/audioinnovation/rsmeter.html

Your room is definitely part of the overall equation (That you absolutely cannot discount!) when you use the test CD to figure out subwoofer placement.

>>When I heard fairly dramatic volume drops in certain >>middle freq. ranges I assumed it was the speakers but >>when I set up the meter and recorded the db levels there >>was no drops of significance during those parts .

Did you measure at the same point as the point you were sitting/standing when you heard these drops in volume???

Before you figure out subwoofer placement, figure out your room response. That will tell you a heck of a lot + will set the baseline to which you need to add the subwoofer to.

Also use C-weighting & "slow" response settings on the meter. IMHO. FWIW.

I always take one along on my first date, and if that goes well, when I meet her mother.

Sincerely
I remain,

Don’t know if you have a home theater system. When I purchase my Lexicon DC-1 the SPM was used to set individual speaker volumes during set up... The DC-1 generates white noise and volume is set accordingly based on listener position...

Clueless, hence the expression “lovely Rita meter maid”

Or was that another kind of meter?

I find the analog version more accurate. Set it to "c" and "slow" . they are discontinued so get one ... or two fast .