Page 20 - Prosig Catalogue 2005

HARDWARE PRODUCTS
WHAT ARE DB, NOISE FLOOR & DYNAMIC RANGE?

Like all logarithmic quantities it is possible to multiply or divide dB values dBμ Electric field strength relative to 1μV per meter
by simple addition or subtraction.
dBJ Energy relative to 1 joule. Used for spectral
Decibel measurements are always relative to given reference levels Examples densities where 1 joule = 1 W/Hz
Training & Support can be recovered from one of the equations shown above. If the numerical value of the reference is undefined then the decibel
and can therefore be treated as absolute measurements. That is, if a
particular reference value is known then the exact measurement value
may be used as a simple measure of relative amplitudes. As an example,
The dB unit is often qualified by a suffix which indicates the reference
assume there are two loudspeakers, one emitting a sound with a power
quantity used, some examples are provided in the following section.
P1 and a second one emitting the same sound at a higher power P2.
Applications
Assuming all other conditions are the same then the difference in decibels
between the two sounds is given by:
The decibel is commonly used in acoustics to quantify sound levels
relative to a reference. This may be to compare two sound sources or
2
1
to quantify the sound level perceived by the human ear. The decibel is
If the second speaker produces twice as much power than the first, the
particularly useful for acoustic measurements since for humans the ratio 10 log (P /P )
of the loudest sound pressure level to the quietest level that can be difference in dB is
detected is of the order of 1 million. Furthermore, since sound power is 10 log (P /P ) = 10 log 2 = 3 dB.
Condition Monitoring For sound pressure levels, the reference level is usually chosen as 20 would be 2 2 1 1
proportional to the pressure squared then this ratio is approximately 1
1
2
If the second had 10 times the power of the first, the difference in dB
trillion.
micro-pascals (20 μPa), or 2x10 Pa. This is about the limit of sensitivity
-5
10 log (P /P )= 10 log 10 = 10 dB.
of the human ear.
If the second had a million times the power of the first, the difference in
dB would be
Note that since the most common usage of the decibel unit is for sound
pressure level measurements it is often abbreviated to just dB rather than
10 log (P /P ) = 10 log 1000000 = 60 dB.
the full dB(SPL).
The common decibel units used in acoustics are:
in dB would be
dB(SPL) Sound Pressure Level. Measurements relative to Note that if both speakers produce the same power then the difference
10 log (P /P ) = 10 log 1 = 0 dB.
2x10 Pa. 2 1
-5
This illustrates some common features of the dB scale irrespective of the
dB(SIL) Sound Intensity Level. Measurements relative to measurement type:
10 W/m which is approximately the level of • A doubling of power is represented approximately by 3dB and a
-12
2
human hearing in air.
Software The human ear does not respond equally to all frequencies (it is more • doubling of amplitude by 6dB.
dB(SWL)
dB Sound Power level. Measurements relative to
10 W.
-12
A halving of power is given by -3dB and a halving of amplitude by
-6dB
sensitive to sounds in the frequency range from 1 kHz to 4 kHz than it is
Note that this does not mean there is no power or signal.
to low or high frequency sounds). For this reason sound measurements • 0dB means that the measured value is the same as the reference.
often have a weighting filter applied to them whose frequency response
approximates that of the human ear (A-weighting). A number of filters Noise floor
exist for different measurements and applications, these are given Any practical measurement will be subject to some form of noise or
the names A,B,C and D weighting. The resultant measurements are unwanted signal. In acoustics this may be background noise. In electronics
expressed, for example, as dBA or dB(A) to indicate that they have been there is often thermal noise, radiated noise or any other interfering signals.
weighted. In a data acquisition measurement system the system itself will actually
add noise to the signals it is measuring. The general rule of thumb is: the
Hardware express power or amplitude ratios in order to quantify the gains or losses
In electronics and telecommunication, the decibel is often used to
of individual circuits or components. One advantage of the decibel for
these types of measurements is that, due to its logarithmic characteristic,
the total gain in dB of a circuit is simply the summation of each of the
individual gain stages in dB.
In electronics the decibel can also be combined with a suffix to indicate
the reference level used. For example, dBm indicates power measurement
relative to 1 milliwatt. The following are some common decibel units used
in electronics and telecommunications.
System Packages dBW Power measurements relative to 1W. Note that Figure 1
Power measurements relative to 1mW
dBm
L
= L
+ 30
dBW
dBm
dBk
Power measurements relative to 1kW. Note
= L + 60
that L
dBm
dBk
Voltage measurement relative to 1V –
dBV
regardless of impedance
dBu or dBv
Voltage relative to 0.775V and is derived from a
600 Ohm dissipating 0dBm (1mW)
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