If the thing emitting the sound -- the generator here -- is reasonably small (near-fild vs. far-field) then measuring from 7m away will give a reading 17db lower than 1m away -- the difference between 56dB/7m amd 72dB/1m is 16db, so in theory the Honda is slightly (1dB) quieter, but this difference is too small to be noticeable.
The quality of the sound (what frequencies dominate) will make a much bigger audible difference than this, some gennys just sound nastier than others, a smooth lower-frequency sound is less annoying. From walking past various gennies, Hondas seem better than most for this...