Jaycar Electronics Reference Data Sheet: DECIBELS.

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UNDERSTANDING DECIBELS
You dont have to be involved very long in electronics, hifi
or professional audio before you come across the term
decibels , or its contraction dB. And because of the very
general way in which these terms are used, it can often be
hard working out what they mean, and why theyre being
used. Heres a quick explanation of what its all about.
Early last century, when engineers were building the first
telephone networks, they needed to be able to measure
the performance of their cables, amplifiers, channel filters
and so on. They soon discovered that because the human
ear responded to both the frequency and loudness of
sounds in a non-linear or logarithmic fashion, their
measurements and comparisons between signals were a lot
more meaningful if they were made in logarithmic terms
too.
For comparing signal strengths they used at first a unit
called the B e l , named in honour of Alexander Graham Bell,
the inventor of the telephone. This was defined simply as
the logarithm of the ratio of two signal power levels. So
two signals were said to differ by one Bel if the logarithm
of their power ratio was 1.0. In other words, if one signal
had a power level 10 times that of the other, because
log(10) = 1.
It was soon found, though, that the Bel was far too large a
unit; the human ear could easily detect much smaller
differences between signals. So engineers began to use a
unit 10 times smaller, which not surprisingly they dubbed
the d e c i B e l or decibel or just dB for short.
Mathematically the difference between two signals or signal
levels is defined as:

N(dB) = 10 x log(P1/P2)

where P1 and P2 are the two signal power levels.

The decibel turned out to be a very practical way to
compare two signals, because a signal difference of 1.0dB
corresponds closely to the smallest change in sound level
that the human ear can detect what psychologists and
audiologists call a just noticeable difference (JND).
Now as you can see, the decibel is strictly speaking a way
of comparing p o w e r l e v e l s , where the two levels may be
measured in watts, milliwatts, microwatts or even kilowatts.
However because signal voltages are proportional to power
level, providing the impedance level is constant (or the

same, in different circuits), you can also work out a ratio in

decibels from the voltage ratio:

N(dB) = 20 x log(V1/V2)

where V1 and V2 are the two voltage levels, and the

multiplier 20 comes in because the power level is
proportional to the square of the voltage level (and
squaring is equivalent to doubling the logarithm).
So knowing two signal voltage levels, we can work out their
difference in decibels providing they are associated with
the same impedance level.
As you can see, though, the decibel strictly isnt a unit of
absolute measurement like the metre, the kilogram, the
ohm or the volt. Its basically just a unit of relative
measurement; a way of comparing one signal level against
another.
Nowadays decibels are used exactly like this in many
different areas of electronics measuring the frequency
response of preamplifiers, amplifiers, filters, microphones
and speakers, comparing the optical output levels of lasers
or the microwave power output of transistors and ICs, and
so on.
For example you may have noticed that the frequency
response of things like amplifiers and filters is often
measured between the points where the response is 3dB
down. Ever wondered why those points are chosen?
Because a drop of 3dB corresponds to h a l v i n g the power
level, which is very clearly noticeable.
Other handy rules of thumb to remember about decibels
are that:
l a 20dB difference corresponds to a drop or gain of 10
times the voltage.
l a 10dB difference corresponds to a drop or gain of 10
times the power, or 3.162 times the voltage.
l a 6dB difference corresponds to a halving or doubling in
voltage.
l a 3dB difference corresponds to a drop in voltage to
0.708 of the original level, or a rise in voltage to 1.413
times.
l a 1dB difference corresponds to a drop of 11% or a rise
of 12% in voltage.
l a single-section RC filter has a rolloff slope of 6dB per
octave, or 20dB per decade of frequency.
l a two-section RC filter has a rolloff slope of
12dB/octave, or 40dB/decade.

Quasi-absolute decibels

Although decibels are strictly speaking a unit of relative

measurement, they are often also used in various fields as a
unit of quasi-absolute measurement. This is done where its
more convenient to think of levels in terms of their
magnitude relative to some arbitrary level, rather than their
absolute value. The arbitrary level is then made the 0dB
reference level, and actual measurements can be quoted in
decibels with respect to it.
In acoustics, for example, its convenient to think of a
s o u n d p r e s s u r e l e v e l o f 0 . 2 n a n o B a r s (the same as
0.2 millidynes/cm 2) as a reference level, because this is
virtually the lowest sound level detectable by the human
ear at 1kHz. This level is therefore called 0dB, and when
measurements are made of actual sound levels theyre
quoted in dB relative to this level. So the voices in a typical
conversation might have a level of 65dB, while an amplified
rock band might produce levels of around 120dB.

Jaycar Electronics Reference Data Sheet: DECIBELS.PDF (2)

Typical sound pressure levels measured according to this
system are shown in the table. Just remember that theyre
really all relative to that reference level of 0.2 nanoBars at
1kHz, the nominal threshold of hearing.
Another example of quasi-absolute decibels is in the
telephone, radio and recording industries, where audio
signals are often handled in balanced circuits at a
standardised impedance level of 600. Because of this
standardised environment its often convenient to quote
measurements of signal level not in terms of absolute
power or voltage, but relative to an arbitrary reference
signal level instead. In this case the reference signal level is
a p o w e r l e v e l o f 1 m W (one milliwatt), which in a 600
circuit corresponds to a voltage level of 775mV. This level
is called 0dBm, so when you see audio signal levels given
as +10dBm or -30dBm, that means theyre being quoted
relative to that reference level.
So +10dBm means 10dB above the 1mW level, for
example (or 10mW), corresponding to a voltage of 2.448V
across 600. Similarly -30dBm means 30dB below the
1mW level, or 1uW (microwatt), corresponding to 24.5mV
across 600.
Yet another example of quasi-absolute decibels is in radio
engineering, where signal and noise levels measured in 50

circuits are often quoted in dBuV or decibels relative

to a reference signal level of o n e m i c r o v o l t . So a signal
level of +20dBuV is actually 10uV, while a noise level of
-10dBuV is actually 0.316uV (or 316 nanovolts).

What are Nepers?

Finally, you may have heard signal or attenuation levels

quoted in numbers that look like decibel figures, but with
the term Nepers instead of dB. So whats a Neper
(pronounced nay-per )?
Nepers are an alternative logarithmic unit of relative
measurement, like the decibel but based on Naperian or
natural logarithms rather than common or base 10
logarithms. (Naperian logs use e or 2.71828 as their base,
rather than 10.)
Its actually easy to convert relative measurements given in
Nepers into decibels; just remember that one Neper =
8.686dB.

(Copyright Jaycar Electronics, 2001)