Includes an extensive rationale statement to accompany SAE recommended Practice 184a--Qualifying a Sound Data Acquisition system. recognizing that the use of only a sound level meter is often impractical or insufficient, there is need to ensure that other systems meet the performance requirements of a standard meter. J184a recognizes recent advancements in sound measurement instrumentation and provides the means to qualify the newer systems to existing performance criteria. the rationale behind the modification of the qualification procedure is explained in detail. In addition to complete systems, the requirements for individual instruments and circuit components are also discussed.