Suppressor sound tests / 5.56 / 5.56, 10.3" AR (MK18)
5.56, 10.3" AR (MK18)2023
80 suppressors were fired on this same gun, on the same day, with the same ammunition. Fired with no suppressor at all, it measured 161.5 dB, which is what each reduction below is counted from.
The bar above the list places each of the 80 suppressors fired on this gun by how loud the shot still measured at the shooter's ear. Between the quietest and the loudest there is 6 dB. It stays on screen as you read, so hovering a row shows where that suppressor falls.
The shaded band is the tightest 1.54 dB stretch of this strip, holding 46 of the 80 suppressors tested, which this test cannot tell apart from one another. It is a sample rather than a special group, so sweep the strip and the band follows. That is most of the field, so on this gun sound is not what separates these suppressors. What decides it is whatever else matters to you, like weight, length or price.
- Griffin Armament HRT 7.62136.4 dB21.08 oz · 7.7" · includes action noise25.1 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Radical Defense LS5 Run2136.7 dB25.2 oz · 7.805" · includes action noise24.8 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Griffin Armament Explorr 30137.2 dB14.4 oz · 6.34" · includes action noise24.3 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- JK Armament SBRX 30 Full 5.56 endcap137.4 dB13.22 oz · 6.165" · includes action noise24.1 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- SilencerCo 36M Long138.0 dB20.08 oz · 7.885" · includes action noise23.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Diligent Defense Enticer138.0 dB9.52 oz · 7.175" · includes action noise23.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Siege Strata 7.62138.0 dB17.58 oz · 7.68" · includes action noise23.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- JK Armament SBRX Full 30 endcap138.1 dB13.22 oz · 6.165" · includes action noise23.4 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Griffin Armament M4SDK138.1 dB19.06 oz · 5.065" · includes action noise23.4 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Siege ROC 5.56138.3 dB17.95 oz · 7.675" · includes action noise23.2 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Abel Theorem L 30 endcap138.4 dB15.93 oz · 8.79" · includes action noise23.1 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Abel Theorem 30 6mm endcap138.8 dB13.58 oz · 7.162" · includes action noise22.7 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Abel Theorem 30 30 endcap138.9 dB13.58 oz · 7.162" · includes action noise22.6 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- SilencerCo Omega 300 Anchor Brake139.0 dB19.34 oz · 8" · includes action noise22.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Yankee Hill R9 Phantom QD139.1 dB16.03 oz · 6.515" · includes action noise22.4 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- SilencerCo Velos LBP139.3 dB23.13 oz · 7.01" · includes action noise22.3 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Griffin Armament HRT 5.56140.2 dB18.01 oz · 6.125" · includes action noise21.3 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- AB A10140.3 dB12.01 oz · 7.257" · includes action noise21.2 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Rugged Razor 5140.3 dB16.45 oz · 6.72" · includes action noise21.2 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- JK Armament RCX 30 Full 5.56 endcap140.3 dB13.24 oz · 8.15" · includes action noise21.2 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- AAC Ranger 7 Mini140.4 dB20.42 oz · 6.615" · includes action noise21.1 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- YHM Fat Cat on Phantom140.5 dB19.69 oz · 5.57" · includes action noise21.0 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Griffin Armament DL5141.1 dB15.16 oz · 6.485" · includes action noise20.4 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Sig SLH 7.62141.4 dB24.75 oz · 7.827" · includes action noise20.1 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- Daniel Defense Soundguard 5.56142.0 dB23.89 oz · 7.215" · includes action noise19.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
- JK Armament SBRX Full 5.56 stack142.0 dB13.22 oz · 6.165" · includes action noise19.5 dB quieter than unsuppressed
Products come and go from these events voluntarily. A suppressor missing from this list was not tested, nothing more. Differences smaller than 1.54 dB are closer than this test can reliably measure. The results also don’t record which mount or muzzle device each suppressor was fitted with, and that hardware can affect both the reading and the weight and length shown above. Decibels are not a count of anything: as a rule of thumb every 10 dB is roughly a halving of how loud something seems, so the gaps here are larger than they look.
Every row opens to show all three microphones, and it is worth opening. A suppressor can be the quietest here beside the muzzle and middling at the shooter’s ear, so a claim about one says nothing about the other.
Thunder Beast published the decibel figures, the weights and the lengths. The resolution limit of 1.54 dB, the shaded band, and the 161.5 dB unsuppressed figure are worked out here from those measurements.
Data from the 2023 SILENCER SUMMIT, published by Thunder Beast Arms Corp. See their results