Google Pixel Tablet speaker dock loudness comparisons (in dBa)
Most Pixel Tablet reviewers commented on the speaker/charger dock’s sound quality and loudness. Opinions vary, of course. My ears aren’t “golden” enough to, in my opinion, provide a good description of the Pixel Tablet’s charger/speaker dock’s sound quality. And, it is, IMO, useless to try to assess the speaker quality except by direct experience. I.e., it doesn’t make sense to try to decide how good is sounds by listening to a recording of the speaker on totally different sound system.
So, I decided to take a look at something a bit more quantifiable: The loudness characteristic. How loud is it? The CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Sound Level Meter App provides a reasonable sound level measurement if you have an iOS/iPadOS or Android device. I installed it on an iPad mini 6. The ambient sound level in the room I tested was about 60 dBa (windows were all open on a breezy day). My informal tests were taken with the iPad mini 6 at 36 inches (3 feet) away from each sound source. The volume of each sound source was set to about 75% of maximum. I used Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 for my tests because (a) I like the song and didn’t mind listening to it several times in a row and (b) I thought its use of brass instruments would help me gauge some qualitative aspects of the audio quality relative to loudness.
Pixel Tablet built-in speakers: 90 dBa
Pixel Tablet charger/speaker dock: 95 dBa
iPad Pro 11-inch (2020 model) built-in speakers: 95 dBa
The (2020) iPad Pro built in speakers are quite a bit louder than the Pixel Tablet’s built-in speakers. However, the Pixel Tablet speaker/charger dock and the iPad Pro’s built-in speakers are about equivalent in loudness. However, The Pixel Tablet’s dock has, as you might guess, more bass.
Note that 90 dBa is quite loud. Health professionals tell us that prolonged exposure at 70 dBa or higher can result in hearing loss. Moreover, note that the decibel scale is logarithmic. So, increases from 70 to 80 or 90 is in orders of magnitude. Relatively speaking, 95 dBa is 2.5 times louder than 90 dBa. Note that this does NOT mean that setting the tablet to 75% always results in this measured loudness level. There are other factors such as how the audio was recorded, the kind of audio (spoken word vs. music, etc.), and other factors.
