Under EN 62841, the standard a power tool is declared under for the European market, which Makita splits by job for multi-tools. Sanding falls under EN62841-2-4, the part for sanders. Plunge cutting, segment sawing and scraping fall under EN62841-1, the general part.
Others give less detail. Fein declares one set of figures and says they were "determined in accordance with the corresponding product standard" without naming the job. Hilti names EN 62841 and no job, Milwaukee and Metabo name neither, and Festool names EN 62841 and gives only "Sawing".
Each figure comes as LpA, sound pressure at the operator's position, and usually LwA, sound power, the tool's total output, each with a K value for uncertainty. Every maker here declares a K of 3.
LpA sets the ranking and LwA sits beside it, and tools are ranked only within a group that shares the same kind of declaration. Why a multi-tool's LpA and LwA stay apart is laid out in our sound power and pressure primer.
Nine tools declare one figure without naming a job, and the little Fein is lowest at 73.7 dB at the ear and 84.7 sound power, by its manual.
| Tool | At the ear (LpA) | Sound power (LwA) |
|---|
| Fein AMM 300 Plus, 12 V | 73.7 | 84.7 |
| Fein MM 500 Plus, corded | 75.6 | 83.6 |
| Hilti SMT 6-22 | 79 | 87 |
| Milwaukee 2836-20 | 79.41 | 90.41 |
| Fein AMM 700 Max, 18 V | 80.4 | 88.4 |
| Fein AMM 500 Plus, 18 V | 80.7 | 88.7 |
| Metabo MT 18 LTX BL QSL | 84 | 92 |
| Fein MM 700 Max, corded | 84.1 | 92.1 |
| Fein MM 300 Plus, corded | 84.6 | 92.6 |
Hilti, Milwaukee and the two 18 V Feins form a cluster within K of each other.
Fein's range is a useful reminder that the corded tool is not always the loud one. Its quietest corded tool, the MM 500 Plus, declares about five decibels less at the ear than either of its 18 V StarlockPlus and StarlockMax cordless tools, while the other two corded MultiMasters sit at the bottom of the table.
From 72 to 83 dB(A) at the ear for sanding, the one job its tools are ranked on, and up to 85 for other jobs.
Makita is the only maker here that declares each job separately. Sanding is the job its EN62841-2-4 figure covers, so that is the ranking.
| Makita tool | Sanding | Plunge cutting | Segment sawing | Scraping | Sound power |
|---|
| XMT04Z, brushless 18V | 72 | 75 | 79 | 74 | Not declared |
| GMT01Z, 40V max | 72 | 75 | 79 | 74 | Not declared |
| XMT03Z, brushed 18V | 80 | 84 | | | 88 (sanding) |
| TM3010CX1, corded | 83 | | | 85 | 91 (sanding) |
For the two tied at 72, Makita warns that working noise may exceed 80. The other jobs are not ranked against anything, but they show how far one tool moves with the blade in it.
Makita's US pages carry numbers too, none of them usable. The GMT01Z page lists "Noise Level" 69 dB. The TM3010CX1 page says "low noise 90dB(A)" in one place and "lower noise (74dB)" in another, and its US flyer says 80dB(A). None names a standard or a job.
Festool's international page for the Vecturo OSC 18 E-Basic lists only "Sawing" rows. Under EN 62841, K 3, the Vecturo cuts at 84 dB(A) for its user and 92 of sound power, and with no sanding or unnamed figure to set beside the others, it stands alone.
Its price comes from Festool USA's reconditioned tool store, which shows a $399.00 compare at price for item 576589; festoolusa.com shows none.
Bosch's US page for the GOP18V-28N and its US operating instructions print no noise figure, and DEWALT's US manual for the DCS354 and DCS356 prints none either. Neither brand is ranked.
Three tools dropped out for other reasons. Milwaukee's EU page for the M12 FMT declares 77.78 dB(A) at the ear, but it lists a 1.8° swing each way while the US M12 FUEL 2526-20 page says 3.9 degrees, so the two cannot be called the same tool. The same goes for the M18 BMT at 79.8, given 12,000 to 18,000 per minute on the EU page against 11,000 to 18,000 for the US 2626-20. Makita's 12 V MT01Z is marked discontinued on its US page, and Festool's US page for the corded Vecturo OS 400 no longer loads.
Keep the blade sharp, use a lower speed setting, and clamp the workpiece so it cannot drum. Those help whichever tool you own.
At the ear, the single-figure group spans about eleven decibels. That is a clear gap in the declarations, yet the blade and the material move real noise as much as the tool does, and Makita's job by job figures show it: the same tool can differ by 7 dB between sanding and sawing.
For longer curved cuts in sheet material, our jigsaw guide ranks fifteen saws declared under EN 62841-2-11. For sanding a whole panel rather than a corner, our guide to random orbital sanders covers 5 and 6 inch sanders under the same sanding standard, EN 62841-2-4.
Every multi-tool figure on this page appears exactly as its maker printed it, along with the standard, K value, job and document wherever the maker identified them.
