DEcibels?

[EvRy1~MaN]

Alas (friends) I am again confused.

Can someone please tell me what decibels mean in laymen's terms?

I mean REALLY SIMPLE!!!!!!! words,I've had a ruff day with these topics.

I've searched millions on forums and articals,and even asked for simple examples,but no one was able to help me.

So let me make this very clear:

Can someone please explain to me what decibels are,and what they do,and such?

 

[Fade]

DB
Abbreviation for Decibel, a logarithmic expression of a ratio comparing two quantities, such as how much louder one sound is than another, or how much more power is available at the output of an amplifier than at the input. Also used to indicate the amplitude of a signal.

From our Glossary:
https://www.illmuzik.com/technical/glossary.php?ID=82

 

[EvRy1~MaN]

DB
Abbreviation for Decibel, a logarithmic expression of a ratio comparing two quantities, such as how much louder one sound is than another, or how much more power is available at the output of an amplifier than at the input. Also used to indicate the amplitude of a signal.

From our Glossary:
https://www.illmuzik.com/technical/glossary.php?ID=82

So in other words,the number in the decibel,represents the the comparison of 2 sounds?

How does this affect my sound?,do I have to match certain decibels?Does the sound get messy when I go over a certain decibel?

 

[The Bastard]

So in other words,the number in the decibel,represents the the comparison of 2 sounds?

How does this affect my sound?,do I have to match certain decibels?Does the sound get messy when I go over a certain decibel?

i take it yur talkin about mixing or mastering ,i keep the mix as close to zero as possible without flatlining.sumtimes that might be too loud for some mixes and itll be distorted,sometimes it might be too low for sum mixes and youll be able to turn it up louder. verys from mix to mix u just gotta really listen for distortion really carefully

 

[djswivel]

dB is a way to measure the loudness of a sound. If you double the power of a sound source, you will increase the dB by +3dB (3.0103 to be exact)

there are many other little rules in regards to dB

if the decibel level is increased by 10dB, the sound source will sound 10x more powerful.

Keep in mind, decibels aren't measured on a linear system. It's all logarhythmic (sp?)

Also, if you double the distance form a sound source, the sound will decrease by -6db. If you stand halfway form a sound source, the volume increases by +6db (approx)....

I dont know if this SPECIFICALLY answers your question, but hopefully it helps give you a better idea. ALSO, dont ever follow levels and dB meters in software because its really not a real representation. It is in a way, meaning if you lower the db by 3 it will sound half as powerful, BUT, its not an actualy representation....The level needs to be measured at the speakers output...there are devices to measure this

 

[EvRy1~MaN]

Ok I think I get the gist of whut decibels are now.

I just needed to get that out of the way,because I finished readin this article on mixers and soundcards,and I wanted to get that down-packed before I did anything stupid.

I guess I'm too cautious.

 

[Fury]

Volume(simple Terms)

 

[sYgMa]

^^I was gonna say the same thing... It's a way to mesure the volume... in real simple terms

(like inches are used to measure lenghts, dB are used to measure loudness or volume)

 

[Hypnotist]

^^ True, but just remember it's RELATIVE volume.

If you have something at 100 dB, and something else at 40 dB playing at the same time, you shouldn't hear the 40 dB at ALL. There's a term for reverb decay (the point of the end of the reverb when you don't hear anything) and it's called T-60. This means that at -60 dB (negative 60) you will hear silence. It doesn't mean that it's a solid number at all. It just means that if you hear something at zero dB being the loudest, then -60 will be silence, comparatively.

Hope this helps, relatively speaking.

 

[samuelock]

whoa! you guys have a glossary! awesome.