signal to noise ratio.....what does this mean?...how is this important to me? a lil help please? thanks.

 

its the ratio of the audio signal to the noise floor - most people think higher is better The higher the number, the farther apart it is and the amp would seem less noisy / quieter.

Its important because it means your getting a clearer signal referenced to the noise floor.

Analogy:
A bus driver with its radio turned up real high, with all that engine and road noise he gets is having a very LOW signal to noise ratio - hence - he will be going deaf soon if he continues to listen at high volumes just to overcome his noise.


Comparing:

If the specs for testing are shown - and your trying to compare two Amps with the same rms wattage - the one with the lower tested wattage (1 watt / Half Power / Full Power) will be understated when compared to an amp tested at a higher wattage level.


Ex - Amp 1 - 500 Watts Rms - Tested Half Power - 98 db
Amp 2 - 500 Watts Rms - Tested Full Power - 110 db

Amp 1 would be understated when comparing and might actually be a quieter amp even though the number was lower to begin with.

-Rage

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1985 civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">signal to noise ratio.....what does this mean?...how is this important to me? a lil help please? thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't worry about it too much. Anything over 100 in a car is good enough

 

over 80db is good. anything more, you won't tell the difference.

an amp that does 85db at 1 watt has better S/N ratio than an amp that does 100db at 600 watts.

should u worry? nope.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by o_Rage_o &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Analogy:
A bus driver with its radio turned up real high, with all that engine and road noise he gets is having a very LOW signal to noise ratio - hence - he will be going deaf soon if he continues to listen at high volumes just to overcome his noise.
-Rage</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not sure that analogy is correct. how does the manufacturer know what kind of conditions the amp will be going into? All home audio equipment has a S/N ratio and in most homes there is virtually no outside noise so wouldn't that mean these components have an extremely high number for S/N ratio?

I believe it is a ratio of signal to noise within the system not within the enviroment.

 

the bus driver gets a signal - his stereo headphones, and has noise - his loud bus.

its still signal to noise - but i never meant for you to think i was talking about the s/n radio of his walkman or radio

S/N *IS* the within the system - in I guess my poor 3am analogy - the system consisted of the bus, the driver, and his music.

-Rage

 

where in toronto are you located? i'm in richmond hill

 

thanks everyone fer clearin that up for me....i was juss curious what it meant....good info