LpA and LWA measure different things
Most edger figures come in two kinds. LpA is the sound pressure that reaches whoever walks the edger along the curb. LWA is sound power, the machine's total noise output, and EU directive 2000/14/EC requires outdoor machines sold there to carry a guaranteed LWA, a ceiling set above the measured value.
Ear figures are ranked against ear figures and sound power against sound power. Makita's 73.8 at the ear and 86.8 measured sound power for the XUX02 combination cannot be subtracted from each other; sound power vs sound pressure covers the reason. Measured and guaranteed sound power stay apart too. Makita prints only measured values for its edger combinations, with a dash where a guaranteed figure would go. Husqvarna prints only guaranteed values. EGO prints both.
Among battery edgers at the ear, the Makita XUX02 with the EE400MP, at 73.8 dB(A). Each kind of figure is ranked only inside its group.
| Group | Edger, dB(A) |
|---|
| Battery, at the ear | Makita XUX02 + EE400MP 73.8; Makita XUX01 + EE400MP 74.8; Makita GUX01 + EE400MP 76.1; Husqvarna 525iES 79; EGO EA0800 on PH1400E 79.8; Husqvarna 525iECS 80; Husqvarna 330iKE 80.5 |
| Gas, at the ear | Husqvarna 122LKE 93.3; Husqvarna 525ES and 525ECS 94 |
| Guaranteed sound power | Husqvarna 525iES 91; EGO EA0800 95; Husqvarna 525iECS 96.4 |
| Measured sound power | Makita XUX02 combo 86.8; Makita XUX01 and GUX01 combos 88.2; EGO EA0800 on PH1400E 92.4 |
The makers name different standards, or none. Makita names ISO11789, EGO names only 2000/14/EC for its guaranteed value, and Husqvarna's US pages name nothing. K values run from 1.4 to 3, so along a driveway a one or two decibel gap between edgers may be impossible to hear.
That ranking-within-groups approach follows our earlier garden guides. If you would rather edge with the trimmer you already own, our string trimmer guide compares declared battery trimmers the same way.
Makita sells no standalone edger in the US. It sells the EE400MP edger attachment for its couple shaft power heads, and the noise figures live in the European manuals for those power heads, one row per attachment. The EE400MP's manual has no noise table, and neither do Makita's US pages or US power head manuals.
The US power heads carry different model numbers, so we matched them on specifications. The US XUX02 and the European DUX18 are both 18 V with two speeds, 6,800 and 9,700 rpm. The XUX01 and the DUX60 both run on two 18 V batteries at three speeds of 5,700, 8,200 and 9,700 rpm. The 40V max GUX01 and the UX01G share the same three speeds.
On those rows, the single-battery XUX02 is lowest at the ear, 73.8 dB(A), with the lowest measured sound power, 86.8. The heavier 36 V XUX01 and the XGT GUX01 follow at 74.8 and 76.1. None of the three has a guaranteed sound power in the table.
How loud are Husqvarna's edgers?
From 79 dB(A) at the ear for the battery 525iES up to 94 for the gas 525ES and 525ECS. Husqvarna is the only maker here with figures on its US product pages, and it covers all six edgers in its US lineup.
The 525iES also guarantees 91, the lowest guaranteed value in this survey. Its curved-shaft sibling, the 525iECS, is a decibel louder at the ear and guarantees 96.4, the highest. Straight or curved, the two share a motor speed and blade, so look at that gap before choosing on grip alone.
The 330iKE Combi Switch kit shows 80.5 dB(A) at the ear and no sound power. The gas 525ES and 525ECS show 94, and the gas 122LKE 93.3, with a guaranteed sound power printed as 0 dB(A). That cannot be real, and we treat it as missing.
No Husqvarna edger page names a standard or an uncertainty.
The EU manual for the EA0800 edger attachment declares 79.8 dB(A) at the ear on the PH1400E power head, 81.2 on the PH1420E and 84 on the PHX1600, each with a K of 3. Measured sound power on the same heads is 92.4, 90.7 and 90. The guaranteed sound power is 95 dB(A).
The EA0800 keeps its model number in the US, where EGO's manual bundles it with the PH1400 power head, so the PH1400E row is the one listed. EGO's US manual, its US pages and its Australian manual for the attachment print no figures.
A carbon fiber ME0820 kit, with the PH1420 and an EA0820 attachment, shows as Coming Soon on EGO's US site. The EU manual does not name the EA0820, so its figures were not applied to that kit.
How loud are STIHL's KombiSystem edgers and the FCA 135?
The KombiSystem attachments are declared at 75 to 94 dB(A) Lpeq. The standalone FCA 135 has no figure at all.
STIHL's international manuals declare each edger attachment one row per KombiEngine, under "Sound pressure level Lpeq". The FCS-KM straight edger shows 75 dB(A) on the KMA 200.0 R battery engine, 76 on the KMA 80.0 R and KMA 120.0 R, and 93 on the gas KM 56 R, all with a K of 2. The FCB-KM curved edger shows 80, 82, 82 and 94 on the same engines. Sound power, as Lweq under ISO 3744, runs from 91 dB(A) on the battery engines with the FCS-KM to 106 on the gas KM 131 R with the FCB-KM.
Those measurements "include idling and rated maximum speed with the same duration of exposure". Idle time pulls an average down against a full-load ear figure, so STIHL's figures are ranked only against each other. The BF-KM cultivator attachment fits the same KombiEngines and is declared the same way, which our tiller and cultivator guide uses to compare battery and gas engines. Two rows in the FCS-KM table are both labeled "KM 130 R with loop handle", at 95 and 78 dB(A), and we use neither.
STIHL's standalone edgers are another story. The FCA 135 page calls it built for extended use in noise-sensitive environments, yet neither that page nor its US manual gives a figure. The US manuals we opened for the FCA 80, FCA 140, FC 56, FC 70, FC 91 and FC 96 contain no noise data either, and no international editions of those edgers turned up.
ECHO's PE-2620 manual and product page print no noise figure. Neither does the Worx WG896 owner's manual, the BLACK+DECKER LE750 instruction manual, or the Greenworks 40V edger and Toro 60V stick edger pages we opened.
There was no European edition of the WG896 to fall back on, and no European twin for the LE750 that we could match with confidence. Quiet or loud, these edgers cannot be ranked.
How loud is a lawn edger in the yard?
Louder than its declared figure whenever the blade hits concrete or gravel. A declared figure comes from a standard test, and a blade that clips concrete, a dry clay border or gravel is louder than the steady cutting or running condition in that test. The figures still work for comparing tools.
The biggest gap a buyer controls is fuel. Husqvarna's pages show 15 decibels at the ear between the battery 525iES and the gas 525ES, which is the difference between a tool you can run early without much worry and one that calls for ear protection every time.
With attachment edgers, the power head counts as much as the attachment. EGO's EA0800 varies by up to 4.2 decibels across three power heads and Makita's EE400MP by 2.3 across three. Already own a head? Check the row for your model, not the attachment's best case.
Only Husqvarna and STIHL list prices
Husqvarna sells direct on its US site, and the prices here are its MSRPs. STIHL sells through dealers, and the FCS-KM and FCB-KM prices are for the attachments alone. Makita's and EGO's US sites show none, though EGO's EA0800 and Makita's EE400MP are both listed on Amazon under their model numbers.
