Each is a bare number of decibels. No (A) for A-weighting. Nothing on whether it is sound pressure, the level at one spot such as the operator's ear, or sound power, the output of the whole machine. No distance, no standard. A noise figure needs those four facts before it can be compared with another, and without them a single number could describe several different things; our guide to comparing decibel ratings goes through each check.
Here is how each maker words its figure:
| Model | Maker's wording | Printed in |
|---|
| Sun Joe CJ603E | "Decibels (dB) 94" / a "Decibel Rating" of 98 dB | Product page / operator's manual |
| Sun Joe CJ602E | "a decibel rating of 113 dB" | Sun Joe help center article |
| DK2 OPC150E-V2 | "SOUND LEVEL 111 dB" | Sell sheet |
| DK2 OPC523-V2 | "SOUND LEVEL 110 dB" | User manual |
| DK2 OPC566E-V2 | "SOUND LEVEL 120 dB" | Sell sheet and user manual |
Inside one brand, at least, the label holds steady. DK2 uses "SOUND LEVEL" for all three of its chippers in the same specification table layout, and Sun Joe's manual and help center both call theirs a decibel rating. Nothing ties the brands together, so a 94 from Sun Joe and a 111 from DK2 stay in separate lists.
Electric chipper shredders
All three electric picks are corded 15 amp machines on 120 volts, for branches between 1.5 and 1.73 in. thick, and each is light enough to wheel by hand.
Sun Joe's slow cutter and fast cutter
Same maker, same 15 amp rating, very different cutters. The CJ603E spec table gives 60 rpm with no load; the CJ602E manual gives 4100 rpm, plus or minus 10 percent. Sun Joe markets the slow one as Silent and says its motor is engineered with "whisper-quiet operation".
The decibel numbers lean the same way as the design: 94 dB on the CJ603E page, 98 in its manual, 113 for the CJ602E in a help center article. Three documents. No stated basis. Read them as a hint that agrees with the spec sheet rather than a measured gap, and weigh the rest of the trade too: the slow model costs more ($199.99 against $169.99), weighs more (39 lbs against 24.7) and accepts slightly thicker branches, 1.73 in. against 1.57.
Two numbers for one CJ603E
The product page says "Decibels (dB) 94". The operator's manual, linked from that same page, gives a "Decibel Rating" of 98 dB.
Sun Joe offers no reason for the 4 dB difference, and neither figure names a weighting, distance or standard. Both appear on the pick above and neither is treated as the true one. A gap that size inside one company's paperwork is one more reason not to rank by either.
DK2's electric shredder
Rated at 3,700 RPM with no load, the OPC150E-V2 takes branches up to 1.5 in. Its 111 dB is on the sell sheet only; the user manual, linked from the same DK2 page, has no sound level in its technical specifications. This is DK2's only electric chipper, so within the brand it can be compared only with the gas machines below.
Gas chippers
Among the gas chipper makers whose documents we read, DK2 alone prints a figure. Its 3 in. OPC523-V2, a drum chipper on a 7HP, 209cc engine, carries "SOUND LEVEL 110 dB" in the user manual. The 6 in. towable OPC566E-V2 has a 19.5HP, 500cc engine and shows 120 dB on both its sell sheet and its manual. One label in one maker's tables makes these two the nearest thing to like for like in this guide, and the bigger machine has the bigger number.
The rest of DK2's V2 range (OPC513-V2, OPC503V-V2, OPC525-V2, OPC506-V2 and OPC506E-V2) shows no sound level in the sell sheets and manuals we opened.
Is DK2's electric shredder quieter than its gas chipper?
Not by DK2's numbers. The electric OPC150E-V2 gets 111 dB and the gas OPC523-V2 gets 110 dB, under the same label, so at face value the shredder is no quieter than the small gas chipper. That reading is shaky. One figure comes from a sell sheet and the other from a manual, with no weighting, distance or test stated for either, but it is still reason enough to ask a maker for its figure instead of assuming the electric model is the quiet one.
Hearing protection, Silent model included
Every manual we opened tells the operator to protect their hearing, the CJ603E's too. Sun Joe warns that noise from the product "may contribute to hearing loss". DK2's instruction is blunter: "Always wear ear plugs or sound-deafening headphones to protect against hearing loss". Champion's and Earthquake's gas manuals ask for hearing protection as well.
No maker here gives a figure for a lighter load or a slower feed.
Other cutting tools get the same treatment in the quietest chainsaws and quietest electric chainsaws guides, and quiet yard tools covers the rest of the shed.
WEN's 41119 and 41130 manuals print nothing, though WEN's page for the 41130 says its enclosed housing and collection bin limit noise. Champion's manuals for the 100472, 200946 and 201353 chipper shredders are just as silent on the subject. So are Earthquake's manual for the K32 and K33, Cub Cadet's manual for the CS2210 and CS3310, and Wallenstein's manual for its BXMC34 series cart chipper shredder.
Even Sun Joe leaves one out: the CJ601E has no figure on its product page or in its manual. Earthwise's page for the GS70015 gives none, and its manual can be had only by calling the company.
