I own an Ivie IE-20B and an Ivie IE-10A. The IE-10A is an octave band spectrum analyzer so I don’t use it anymore since I have 1/3 to 1/24 octave units available. I still use the IE-20B all the time; it’s small, light and runs off batteries, and pink noise has not changed since 1980. I took out the internal batteries because they were leaking, and added a DC power jack. It will run off of 5 to 6 volts.
Back in the late ‘70s when the IE-30A come out it was THE SHIT. There were not many 1/3 octave spectrum analyzers available then, much less hand-held ones. The Ivies also had very good filters and mics. New, the IE-30 sold for over $2000, which was some serious money then.
The biggest problem with the Ivies were the internal Ni-Cad batteries. In less than 5 years the batteries will not hold a charge and they start to leak which can cause some serious internal damage. Taking one of these Ivies apart (and getting it back together) is no easy task since they crammed so much stuff into the case. The last time I checked Ivie was still in business, and it appears they still service the IE-30. Here is a link:
http://www.ivie.com/index.php/support/customer-serviceAs for what they are worth, that is hard to say. You can buy a 1/3 octave hand-held sound spectrum analyzer for about 500 bucks these days, but it does not have all those cool red LEDs like the IE-30B.
DigiGal: The link you posted for the IE-30B manual was actually for the IE-33 & IE-35 which are about, oh, 30 years newer. This is what Cheesecadet has:
http://www.soundbroker.com/PROCESSING/?listingid=33309LED matrix displays rule!