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A Look At Of The Signal-To-Noise Ratio Inside Wireless Speaker Systems

By Linda Cullmann


It is easy to be bewildered by the language that wireless loudspeaker manufacturers use in order to explain the performance of their models. I will clarify the meaning of a frequently utilized spec: "signal-to-noise ratio" to help you make an informed decision when buying a brand new a pair of wireless loudspeakers.

Once you have selected a range of cordless speakers, it is time to explore a few of the specifications in more detail to help you narrow down your search to one model. Each wireless loudspeaker will produce a certain level of hiss and hum. The signal-to-noise ratio is going to help quantify the level of static generated by the speaker.

Comparing the noise level of several sets of wireless loudspeakers can be accomplished fairly simply. Simply get together a couple of types that you wish to evaluate and short circuit the transmitter audio inputs. Then put the wireless loudspeaker volume to maximum and verify the amount of static by listening to the speaker. The noise which you hear is created by the cordless speaker itself. Ensure that the gain of each couple of cordless speakers is pair to the same amount. Otherwise you will not be able to objectively compare the level of hiss between different models. The general rule is: the lower the level of static that you hear the higher the noise performance.

If you favor a pair of wireless speakers with a small level of hissing, you can look at the signal-to-noise ratio number of the data sheet. The majority of manufacturers are going to display this figure. wireless speakers with a large signal-to-noise ratio will output a low level of hiss. Noise is produced due to a number of reasons. One factor is that today's wireless loudspeakers all employ components including transistors plus resistors. These elements are going to produce some amount of hiss. The overall noise depends on how much noise every element generates. However, the position of those components is also essential. Elements which are part of the loudspeaker built-in amplifier input stage will in general contribute most of the noise.

Static is also created by the cordless transmission. Different styles of transmitters are available that operate at different frequencies. The least expensive sort of transmitters makes use of FM transmission and typically transmits at 900 MHz. Other wireless transmitters are going to interfer with FM type transmitters and create additional hiss. Consequently the signal-to-noise ratio of FM type cordless speakers varies depending on the distance of the speakers from the transmitter plus the level of interference. To avoid these problems, newer transmitters employ digital audio transmission and generally transmit at 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. This type of audio broadcast provides better signal-to-noise ratio than analog style transmitters. The level of hiss depends on the resolution of the analog-to-digital converters and the quality of other parts.

A lot of today's cordless speakers have built-in power amps that include a power switching stage which switches at a frequency around 500 kHz. This switching noise can result in some level of speaker distortion but is usually not included in the signal-to-noise ratio which only considers noise between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.

The signal-to-noise ratio is measured by feeding a 1 kHz test tone 60 dB underneath the full scale and measuring the noise floor of the signal generated by the built-in amplifier. The amplification of the wireless loudspeaker is set such that the full output wattage of the built-in amp can be realized. Subsequently, only the noise in the range of 20 Hz and 20 kHz is considered. The noise at other frequencies is eliminated by a filter. Subsequently the level of the noise energy in relation to the full-scale output power is calculated and expressed in db.

Frequently you are going to discover the expression "dBA" or "a-weighted" in your wireless loudspeaker specification sheet. A weighting is a method of showing the noise floor in a more subjective manner. This method was developed with the knowledge that human hearing perceives noise at different frequencies differently. Human hearing is most perceptive to signals around 1 kHz. However, signals below 50 Hz and higher than 13 kHz are hardly heard. An A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio weighs the noise floor in accordance to the human hearing and is usually higher than the unweighted signal-to-noise ratio.




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