Got my Mavic Platinum props today! 2 Decibles Quieter!

Clinton1 · Oct 10, 2017

Has anybody watched this ? looks like a very good review.

dscline · Oct 10, 2017

veDtdvCGL$Db.hxd said:
Are there any comparisons with Mavic at higher than head-high altitudes? e.g. 100ft, 400ft.

Yes, there was a video comparison about a week ago. You'll have to search for it, but they did still show the new props being quieter at higher elevation. IIRC, at some distance (maybe 400'), they couldn't hear the new ones, but could still make out the old ones.

EDIT: by the way, the video posted above is not the one I saw last week. The one above is much longer/more detailed.

EDIT2: Below is the video I had seen before.

ac0j · Oct 10, 2017

Chip said:
Okay but what are you saying? (Im sorry but I felt like being a wiseacre).

I am saying that the sound level difference is not enough to make a difference to me, the performance would have to be quite improved to make this prop purchase worth it to me. I understand there are those that have to get every new thing as soon as it comes out, That is not me. I'll let them spend the money, and wait till its proved to be worth it.

Sound levels measured by machines have little to do with how sound is detected by a human ear.
Watts times 10 is spl power times 2 period. How many watts is being applied to the props? NO-ONE knows here without some serious calculations, db on a stereo display is attenuation of output power in db, thats is why the picture provided was showing a negative db level. It does NOT depict an actual sound pressure level.
I am sure all of these people have had the stereo kid drive by and all they can hear is bass pounding. I can assure you that there are other frequencies being played at the same volume level in the car, but as you move further away from it the higher frequencies fade first. Its based on wavelength as much or more than volume levels.

So is there a performance advantage or is it as weak as the volume argument?

BIGDAVE · Oct 14, 2017

Mavic626 said:
Today I went to my local DJ I store. They just got the shipment of Mavic platinum props in. I brought them home to try on my standard Mavic Pro. Using my decibel meter, I had the craft hovering 5 feet in the air and 15 feet away from me. The decibel meter was on a table about 2 above the ground.

The ambient sound outside was 53-54 decibels

The old maverick props were 61-62 decibels

the new platinum props were 58-59 decibels

The funny part was, once I got higher the new platinum props got louder. As some had stated, it seems to quiet the craft on the horizontal plane more than being directly above you.

I can say that they do sound quieter or maybe it just seems like it makes the motors sound like they are running smoother. But doing my own test shows the new platinum props on the old mavic lowers the overall sound one to two decibels.

OK so they are quieter but do they still have the same power? I mean if the mavic could lift 5 lbs two oz's could it still do that or do you lose some good ol fashion HORSE POWER??

Mavic 57 · Oct 20, 2017

For the price of a round of drinks in the UK, the new props are brilliant in my ears.

Would I buy the MPP to replace my MP ? NO. Ear plugs are cheap as chips.

Ian in London · Oct 21, 2017

ac0j said:
I am saying that the sound level difference is not enough to make a difference to me, the performance would have to be quite improved to make this prop purchase worth it to me. I understand there are those that have to get every new thing as soon as it comes out, That is not me. I'll let them spend the money, and wait till its proved to be worth it.

Sound levels measured by machines have little to do with how sound is detected by a human ear.
Watts times 10 is spl power times 2 period. How many watts is being applied to the props? NO-ONE knows here without some serious calculations, db on a stereo display is attenuation of output power in db, thats is why the picture provided was showing a negative db level. It does NOT depict an actual sound pressure level.
I am sure all of these people have had the stereo kid drive by and all they can hear is bass pounding. I can assure you that there are other frequencies being played at the same volume level in the car, but as you move further away from it the higher frequencies fade first. Its based on wavelength as much or more than volume levels.

So is there a performance advantage or is it as weak as the volume argument?

Yes; I fully agree. I carried out a studio-controlled test to measure the sound levels for precisely the same flying conditions and found similar results as the OP; Ithink it's a little mischievous to be selling these as quieter when you see a controlled side-by-side comparison:

dscline · Oct 21, 2017

Wellsi said:
Yes; I fully agree. I carried out a studio-controlled test to measure the sound levels for precisely the same flying conditions and found similar results as the OP; Ithink it's a little mischievous to be selling these as quieter when you see a controlled side-by-side comparison

It's strange that you're getting less of a difference than all the other tests I've seen with sound meters. Did you use A-weighting, or C-weighting? Your meters were blurred in all the shots.

sar104 · Oct 21, 2017

dscline said:
It's strange that you're getting less of a difference than all the other tests I've seen with sound meters. Did you use A-weighting, or C-weighting? Your meters were blurred in all the shots.

I posted a spectrum analysis in one of the other threads that might shed some additional light on the differences:

Mavic Pro, in a steady hover in a controlled sound environment with sound measurement at the level of the aircraft at a distance of approximately 1 m. The platinum props were spinning at around 5800 rpm, while the regular props were spinning at around 6250 rpm.

The low frequency peaks are simple harmonics of the propeller frequency noted above (5800 rpm ≈ 97 Hz, 6250 rpm ≈ 105 Hz). The lower frequency of rotation was clearly audible. The platinum prop spectrum is not significantly different than the regular props through 1000 Hz or so, but they are quieter beyond that with the exception of the strange peak at aorund 6850 Hz, that was audible to me.

Note that I'm running FW 400.

Ian in London · Oct 22, 2017

dscline said:
It's strange that you're getting less of a difference than all the other tests I've seen with sound meters. Did you use A-weighting, or C-weighting? Your meters were blurred in all the shots.

Hi there
I think my findings are pretty much inline with what others have found; I've seen a couple of other meter videos that also show around 1-2 dB difference. I did not apply A or C filtering on the; I left it at Z as I simply wanted to analyse the sound production itself. I didn't do spectrum analysis but as mentioned by others though, it's the pitch and the slight reduction in the upper mid-range frequencies we happen to be particularly sensitive to that appears to be the drive behind the claims of it being quieter....
Cheers
Ian

Ian in London · Oct 22, 2017

sar104 said:
I posted a spectrum analysis in one of the other threads that might shed some additional light on the differences:

View attachment 23585

Mavic Pro, in a steady hover in a controlled sound environment with sound measurement at the level of the aircraft at a distance of approximately 1 m. The platinum props were spinning at around 5800 rpm, while the regular props were spinning at around 6250 rpm.

The low frequency peaks are simple harmonics of the propeller frequency noted above (5800 rpm ≈ 97 Hz, 6250 rpm ≈ 105 Hz). The lower frequency of rotation was clearly audible. The platinum prop spectrum is not significantly different than the regular props through 1000 Hz or so, but they are quieter beyond that with the exception of the strange peak at aorund 6850 Hz, that was audible to me.

Note that I'm running FW 400.

That's very interesting to read through. Shows perfectly how the quietness is achieved through the lower dB in the upper ranges of frequencies, to lessen the annoying higher pitched buzzing.

Cheers,
Ian

Mavic 57 · Oct 25, 2017

I may be mistaken but I thought my Mavic in hover was about 505-510 rpm for the new props, and 550-560 rpm for the old props. 10 times less than what your indicating.

Is there a multiplier on the remote controller reading of x10 ?

sar104 · Oct 25, 2017

Mavic 57 said:
I may be mistaken but I thought my Mavic in hover was about 505-510 rpm for the new props, and 550-560 rpm for the old props. 10 times less than what your indicating.

Is there a multiplier on the remote controller reading of x10 ?

No - that's much too slow. It's up in the 5k - 6k range.

Mike357 · Nov 6, 2017

Had my platinum props about 2 weeks, got my first free time to fly with them today, I don’t have any measuring equipment for sound levels apart from my ears and they definitely don’t sound as loud especially at 100 feet. The tone is noticeably different (not as high pitched) which I assume is why they seem quieter at a distance. Whatever it is I doubt that they will attract as much attention when flying at a sensible height. Looking at the batteries information on Airdata it seems they have also increased flight times slightly compared to the last couple of months. Happy with my purchase [emoji1303]