I use handheld sound amplitude meters and spectrogram software on smartphones to track down sounds I want to eliminate. This is often for musical purposes, but

I use handheld sound amplitude meters and spectrogram software on smartphones to track down sounds I want to eliminate. This is often for musical purposes, but also for annoying sounds. An amplitude meter can be useful for finding the source of a sound, but lower frequency sounds are not as directional, and standing waves in rooms can make a sound source appear to come from somewhere other than the source (though perhaps moving a sound camera around physically could help eliminate this ambiguity?) The spectrogram can provide evidence of a specific periodicity or frequency range that can help identify a source. However these tools while useful are not sufficient all the time and are certainly not quick to use. I've often thought it would be really useful to have something like a gunshot detector for ordinary sounds, to be able to locate sounds both indoors and outdoors. It would help in answering questions like "is that sound a bear/dog raiding my trash?", "is the fan failing in my air purifier?", "is my air conditioner rattling something nearby?", "is my fridge transmitting a low level hum throughout the house?", "is that engine noise a truck pulling up to my house or a truck climbing a hill on the nearby highway?", all problems I have actually faced. Not sure if a sonic camera can deal well with low frequency sounds, but it would certainly make it easier to deal with higher frequency sources of noises. I'd buy one on impulse for $100, with some consideration of features at $300.