#DBS SOUND REFERENCE FULL#

Logarithmic scales are very useful when the values in the data range in several orders of magnitude. What Is A Logarithmic Scale?Ī logarithmic scale is a method of displaying numerical data over a wide range of values in a compact way. In other words, the logarithm of a given number x is the exponent to which the base number b must be raised to produce the number x.įor most of our decibel calculations in audio, we use the “common logarithm” where b = 10. Related article: What Is The Difference Between Sound And Audio? What Is A Logarithm?Ī logarithm, in mathematics, is the inverse function of an exponential. Sound pressure level: the ratio between the peak pressure variation caused by a sound wave and the point at which we register pressure variation as sound.Noise: the ratio between the intended signal strength/voltage and the unintentional noise signal strength/voltage.Gain (as previously mentioned): the ratio between output signal voltage/strength to input signal/voltage strength.In audio and sound, we use ratios for lots of things, including but not limited to:

What Is A Ratio?Ī ratio, in mathematics, is a unitless relative measurement that indicates how many times one number contains another number.Ī ratio always compares one value to another value. We'll get into the explanation of the above formula and other formulae regarding decibels in the next section, Power, Root-Power & Perceived Quantities.įor now, let's stick with the fact that the decibel is a relative unit of measurement (ratio) on a logarithmic scale. The decibel ratio of two voltage ratings is defined as follows: However, a gain of 10:1 would be considered, when speaking of the signal/voltage level, only 20 dB of gain. So if the amplifier's output signal is 100 times as strong as the input signal (its voltage amplitude is 10x that of input), then we could say that the gain of the amplifier is 10:1 (or simply “10”). Rather, it is logarithmic.įor instance, an audio amplifier's signal gain (voltage gain) can be calculated as the ratio of the output voltage/signal level to the input voltage/signal level. Comparing Power, Root-Power & Perceived Quantity Decibel Valuesįirst and foremost, we must understand that the decibel is not a linear ratio.Perceived Quantities & Decibel Measurements.Root-Power Quantities & Decibel Measurements.

Power Quantities & Decibel Measurements.Power, Root-Power & Perceived Quantities.I also hope this becomes a reference for you to re-read for specifics about decibels in the future.

#DBS SOUND REFERENCE FULL#

I hope that once you've read this article, you'll have a full understanding of the decibel and its role in audio. In this article, I will break down the decibel and define it in such a way that it should be perfectly clear. Decibels are commonly used in audio to define gain, sound pressure level (dB SPL), signal level (dBv, dBu, dBFS), and even power (dBm). It is a relative unit of measurement used to express the ratio of one quantity to another on a logarithmic scale. What are decibels? A decibel (dB) is a tenth of a Bel (“deci-Bel”). Fear not, this article has all the details you'll need to fully understand decibels. It seems just as we begin to understand decibels, we learn something else about them that confuses us even more than we were previously. The decibel is a rather confusing concept to fully comprehend in the world of audio.

Dbs sound reference