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Can anyone please tell me what signal to noise ratio means? I came across this phrase in an article I was reading recently, but I have no idea what it refers to.
It means just what it sounds like it means. The signal is the information and the noise is everything else. By "information" I mean the content, e.g. audio, video or data. Examples of noise are hiss, hum and digital hash. So if the signal is 100 times greater than the surrounding noise, then it has a 20dB S/N radio. If it's 1000 times greater, then it has 30dB S/N ratio.
That's a really great explanation by Wayne Parham. I can only add that the higher the ratings in decibels, then the crisper the sound you're going to get from the speakers.