It is easy to be perplexed by the language that wireless loudspeaker suppliers utilize to describe the performance of their products. I will explain the meaning of a commonly utilized specification: "signal-to-noise ratio" to help you make an informed decision whilst purchasing a new a set of cordless speakers.
Once you have selected a range of cordless speakers, it is time to explore some of the specs in more detail to help you narrow down your search to one product. One important criterion of cordless loudspeakers is the signal-to-noise ratio. To put it simply, the signal-to-noise ratio explains how much hum or hiss the speakers will add to the audio signal. This ratio is commonly described in decibel or "db" for short.
You can make a simple comparison of the cordless loudspeaker noise by short circuiting the transmitter input, setting the speaker gain to maximum and listening to the speaker. By and large you are going to hear 2 components. The first is hissing. In addition, you are going to regularly hear a hum at 50 or 60 Hz. Both of these are components which are generated by the wireless loudspeaker itself. Then compare different sets of wireless speakers according to the next rule: the lower the amount of hiss, the better the noise performance of the cordless loudspeaker. On the other hand, keep in mind that you should set all sets of cordless speakers to amplify by the same level in order to compare different models.
While looking at the cordless loudspeaker specification sheet, you want to look for a couple of wireless speaker with a high signal-to-noise ratio figure which indicates that the cordless speakers output a small level of noise. Noise is created due to several reasons. One factor is that modern wireless loudspeakers all utilize components like transistors in addition to resistors. These elements will produce some amount of hiss. The overall noise depends on how much noise each component generates. Yet, the position of those components is also essential. Components which are part of the speaker built-in amplifier input stage are going to generally contribute the majority of the noise.
A different cause of static is the wireless audio broadcast itself. Usually models which make use of FM type transmission at 900 MHz are going to have a fairly high amount of static. The level of static is also dependent upon the amount of cordless interference from other transmitters. Newer models are going to usually make use of digital music transmission at 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. The signal-to-noise ratio of digital transmitters is independent from the distance of the wireless speakers. It is determined by how the music signal is sampled. Also, the quality of components inside the transmitter will affect the signal-to-noise ratio.
Most today's wireless loudspeakers have built-in power amplifiers that incorporate a power switching stage that switches at a frequency around 500 kHz. This switching frequency is also hiss which is part of the amplified signal. On the other hand, modern cordless speakerspecifications usually only consider the noise between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.
The most popular technique for measuring the signal-to-noise ratio is to couple the cordless speaker to a gain that enables the maximum output swing. Then a test signal is input into the transmitter. The frequency of this tone is usually 1 kHz. The amplitude of this signal is 60 dB underneath the full scale signal. Next, the noise floor between 20 Hz and 20 kHz is calculated and the ratio to the full-scale signal calculated. The noise signal at different frequencies is eliminated via a bandpass filter throughout this measurement.
Time and again you are going to find the expression "dBA" or "a-weighted" in your cordless speaker spec sheet. A weighting is a method of expressing the noise floor in a more subjective way. In other words, this technique tries to state how the noise is perceived by a person. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and above 14 kHz are barely heard. Therefore an A-weighting filter is going to amplify the noise floor for frequencies that are easily perceived and suppress the noise floor at frequencies that are barely noticed. A lot of cordless speaker will have a higher A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio than the un-weighted ratio.
Once you have selected a range of cordless speakers, it is time to explore some of the specs in more detail to help you narrow down your search to one product. One important criterion of cordless loudspeakers is the signal-to-noise ratio. To put it simply, the signal-to-noise ratio explains how much hum or hiss the speakers will add to the audio signal. This ratio is commonly described in decibel or "db" for short.
You can make a simple comparison of the cordless loudspeaker noise by short circuiting the transmitter input, setting the speaker gain to maximum and listening to the speaker. By and large you are going to hear 2 components. The first is hissing. In addition, you are going to regularly hear a hum at 50 or 60 Hz. Both of these are components which are generated by the wireless loudspeaker itself. Then compare different sets of wireless speakers according to the next rule: the lower the amount of hiss, the better the noise performance of the cordless loudspeaker. On the other hand, keep in mind that you should set all sets of cordless speakers to amplify by the same level in order to compare different models.
While looking at the cordless loudspeaker specification sheet, you want to look for a couple of wireless speaker with a high signal-to-noise ratio figure which indicates that the cordless speakers output a small level of noise. Noise is created due to several reasons. One factor is that modern wireless loudspeakers all utilize components like transistors in addition to resistors. These elements will produce some amount of hiss. The overall noise depends on how much noise each component generates. Yet, the position of those components is also essential. Components which are part of the speaker built-in amplifier input stage are going to generally contribute the majority of the noise.
A different cause of static is the wireless audio broadcast itself. Usually models which make use of FM type transmission at 900 MHz are going to have a fairly high amount of static. The level of static is also dependent upon the amount of cordless interference from other transmitters. Newer models are going to usually make use of digital music transmission at 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. The signal-to-noise ratio of digital transmitters is independent from the distance of the wireless speakers. It is determined by how the music signal is sampled. Also, the quality of components inside the transmitter will affect the signal-to-noise ratio.
Most today's wireless loudspeakers have built-in power amplifiers that incorporate a power switching stage that switches at a frequency around 500 kHz. This switching frequency is also hiss which is part of the amplified signal. On the other hand, modern cordless speakerspecifications usually only consider the noise between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.
The most popular technique for measuring the signal-to-noise ratio is to couple the cordless speaker to a gain that enables the maximum output swing. Then a test signal is input into the transmitter. The frequency of this tone is usually 1 kHz. The amplitude of this signal is 60 dB underneath the full scale signal. Next, the noise floor between 20 Hz and 20 kHz is calculated and the ratio to the full-scale signal calculated. The noise signal at different frequencies is eliminated via a bandpass filter throughout this measurement.
Time and again you are going to find the expression "dBA" or "a-weighted" in your cordless speaker spec sheet. A weighting is a method of expressing the noise floor in a more subjective way. In other words, this technique tries to state how the noise is perceived by a person. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz while signals below 50 Hz and above 14 kHz are barely heard. Therefore an A-weighting filter is going to amplify the noise floor for frequencies that are easily perceived and suppress the noise floor at frequencies that are barely noticed. A lot of cordless speaker will have a higher A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio than the un-weighted ratio.
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