The current approach to noise survey work emphasizes the importance of spatial and temporal noise‐level variations, with less stress on frequency content. It is shown that a simple clock‐switched sound monitoring package,A‐weighted at the input stage, and with dynamic range of 45 dB, yields adequate information on which to base a concise, statistical model of the acoustic landscape. Because of the low‐cost nature of individual terminal units, a large number of units may be operated simultaneously over an extended area. This ensures that important spatial information is not lost. Such a detailed picture is not possible with the more conventional sequential (point to point) techniques which are normally employed.