INTRO: Noise is generally more obvious with headphones than

speakers and a relatively common complaint among headphone

aficionados. Theres a lot of confusion about sources of noise,
specifications, and how to make valid comparisons.
NOISE DEFINED: Technically noise is anything present thats not
related to the desired audio signal. We usually only care about noise
within the audible range of 20 hz to 20 Khz. And within that range, the
ear is more sensitive to noise at some frequencies than others. The most
common audible noise is relatively random in nature and heard as a
broadband hiss. Low frequency hum at power line frequencies is also
sometimes audible. And digital devices, especially computers and
mobile phones, can generate noises at specific frequencies that are heard
as whines, chirps, clicks, buzzes, etc.
SOURCES OF NOISE: Noise can, and often does, invade the signal
chain in audible ways starting at the microphones used during recording.
Here are some common sources:
Recordings Microphone preamps and other gear used during
recording often have audible noise. But lots of techniques are used
to reduce the audibility of such noise. Noise gating, for example, is
used to cut noise when theres no sound from a given microphone
or instrument. Nearly all recordings before the early 80s were
mastered on analog tape which has significant amounts of tape
hiss. And even digital recordings can have noise from all the
electronics in the signal path. And, of course, vinyl has lots of
noise.
DAC In theory a perfect 16 bit DAC has a 96 dB signal-to-noise
ratio but some fall well short of full 16 bit performance. 24 bit
DACs often only manage approximately 16 bit performance and
the very best reach 21 bit (ENOB) performance. This is especially
true of DACs inside a computer. Some DACs also produce
significant amounts of their own noise such as as modulation and

quantization noise (although these can also be considered forms of

distortion as they are only present with a signal).
Headphone Amp Even a laptop or portable player has a
headphone amp in it although it might be built into the same chip
as the DAC. Any amplifier adds noise, its just a question of if its
audible or not. Even some fairly expensive stand-alone headphone
amps can have significant amounts of noise. They can also further
amplify whatever noise is upstream.
Noise is Cumulative While sometimes theres an obviously
dominant source of noise it can just as easily be a little from here
and little from there. Noise adds up.
NOISE MEASUREMENTS: There are two basic kinds of noise
measurements. One is a an absolute measurement of just the noise and
the other is a measurement of the noise relative to some known signal
level. The decibel (dB) was partly developed as it more closely follows
subjective human hearing. A one dB change in level is about the smallest
change most people can detect. A 10 dB change is perceived as being
roughly twice as loud (or soft). If Gear A has noise of -80 dBv and Gear
B is -70 dBv the second one will have about twice the subjective noise:
Absolute Noise This is normally measured in microvolts and is
the total output with no signal present. It indicates the noise floor
which is useful from an analytical point of view but less useful for
subjective noise evaluation where youre more concerned about the
noise compared to a given realistic listening level. All noise
downstream of the volume control is absolute noise.
Relative Noise This is a more useful measurements as it
correlates the noise relative to some known amount of signal.
There are decibel units that are referenced to known standards. The
most common are dBv and dBu. Noise given in dBv is referenced
to a signal of 1 volt RMS and dBu is referenced to 0.775 volts.

Both are reasonable listening levels for many full size headphones
such as the Sennheiser HD600.
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR or S/N) This is a more open ended
method where both the noise figure and the reference signal level
must be provided for it to be a meaningful number. The correct unit
is dBr where the r means relative but its often just given in
dB. Unfortunately, many manufactures dont specify the reference
level. When just SNR is specified with no reference you should
assume its referenced to whatever the absolute maximum output
level is for the device--the same as a Dynamic Range
measurement. Sadly, thats often not specified either (see: More
Power).
Volts vs dBv vs dBu vs dBr Measuring noise in volts only
works for absolute noise measurements. Measurements in dBv are
referenced to 1 volt which makes the math much easier and theyre
commonly used in professional audio. 0 dBv = 1 volt. In consumer
equipment dBu is more common and referenced to 0.775 volts
making the math more awkward. Measurements in dBr can be
referenced to anything including each other.
DYNAMIC RANGE: As explained above, Dynamic Range is really the
same as the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) using the maximum possible
signal. Its the ratio between the loudest undistorted output of the device
and whats left over when nothing is playing and is usually a positive
number instead of a negative one. The theoretical dynamic range of 16
bit digital audio is 96 dB so thats often used a benchmark for dynamic
rangeideally you dont want the playback hardware to be worse than
the recording format. With higher output gear its not uncommon to see
dynamic range measurements well above that value so its not an
unrealistic target. Studies, such as the one conducted by Meyer and
Moran, have shown 96+ dB of dynamic range is transparent for any
normal listening conditions. The only way to expose the noise floor is to
crank up the volume to unrealistic levels. Using a digital (software)

volume ahead of a 16 bit DAC and leaving the volume after the DAC
cranked way up may expose the 16 bit noise floor. In these applications
110 dB of dynamic range should be sufficient to keep the noise below
ambient levels.
VOLUME SETTING: There are some interesting twists with volume
settings some of which are not intuitive:
Upstream Noise - Any noise thats upstream of the volume
control will be more audible as you turn the volume up assuming
the music doesnt mask it. The absolute noise is worse at higher
volume settings but the SNR stays about the same because youre
also increasing the signal by the same amount as you turn up the
volume.
Amplifier Noise Depending on where the volume control is
located within the gear it may or may not significantly alter the
noise. A digital volume control, for example, will only affect the
noise in the recording itself (and not change SNR at all).
Interestingly some devices with analog volume controls have the
most noise at half volumesuch as the FiiO E9. This is usually
because youre hearing the Johnson Noise of the volume control
itself where half volume is the worst case situation. This is typical
when the volume control is before the gain stage. When the
volume is after the gain stage, most everything becomes Upstream
Noise (see above) and is reduced at lower volume settings.
Fixed Noise Amps have a certain amount of noise thats present
at any volume setting. This is usually noise thats from the circuitry
after the volume control and, in a properly designed amp, its
entirely possible to have it always be inaudible.
WORST CASE NOISE AUDIBILITY: Some define audible noise as
anything you can hear under worst case conditionsi.e. nothing
playing, the worst case volume and gain settings, a very quiet room, and

using extremely sensitive headphones. An easily accepted guideline is

96 dB un-weighted referenced to a realistic maximum listening level
(see Dynamic Range above) as thats the maximum dynamic range of 16
bit digital audio. So whatever level produces around 110 dB peak SPL
(see my Power article) should be the reference value and as long as the
noise is about 96 dB below that it will be entirely inaudible. Thats
achievable with less sensitive headphones but difficult with ultra
sensitive IEMs. Some examples
HD600 2.3 V for 110 dB gives 36 uV or 88 dBv of noise
GRADO SR80 0.7 V for 110 dB gives 11 uV or 99 dBv of
noise
U.E. TripleFi 10 0.1 V for 110 dB gives 1.6 uV or 116 dBv of
noise
PRACTICAL NOISE AUDIBILITY: In reality, testing shows that 85
dB below 110 dB SPL is sufficiently quiet for most people (noise of 25
dB SPL). That puts the limit at 105 dBv, (-102.8 dBu) or 5.6 uV for
sensitive IEMs. With the most sensitive IEMs in a really quiet room
someone might still hear some noise at that level, but being realistic, its
likely good enough. If you want to be assured of silence with even the
most sensitive IEMs, aim for 110 dBv (-107.8 dBu).
NOISE & GAIN: Headphone amps have varying amounts of gain--the
maximum amount they can amplify the input signal. Some have multiple
gain settings. The higher the gain the more they will amplify upstream
noise. And, typically, the higher the gain the higher their own noise. This
is one reason you ideally want to use the lowest amount of gain required.
See: All About Gain
AN EXAMPLE: The O2 Headphone Amp has the following
measurements (see O2 Measurements):

 Noise dBv Volume 100% The O2 measures 112 dBv unweighted and 115 dBv A-Weighted. This is well below the 105
dBv guideline and means the O2 will be silent in use.
SNR Referenced to Full Output The O2 referenced to 7 volt
RMS (full output) measures 130 dBr unweighted and 133 dBr
A-Weighted. These numbers are extremely impressive but also
unrealistic for most users who will never need even close to 7
Vrms of output.
HEADPHONE SENSITIVITY: Headphones vary widely in their
sensitivity. Many assume a headphone thats 10 dB more sensitive will
make the SNR 10 dB worse but thats often not true. As headphones
become more sensitive, you need less gain, and/or use lower volume
settings. Both of those typically lower noise So the ratio of the signal to
the upstream noise, and hence the SNR, stays about the same. Only
fixed noise (see above) is directly related to the headphone sensitivity.
Johnson Noise from the volume control can complicate this a bit but as
headphones become more sensitive the fixed noise becomes much more
important. See Noise Audibility Worst Case above for examples of three
different headphones.
NOISE SPECTRUMS: Sometimes you will see a spectrum graph for
noise measurements. The approximate noise floor in these graphs is
much lower than the actual noise specification. In the graph to the right
the overall noise is about 112 dBv but the noise floor is down around
150 dBv in the graph. This huge difference is because the 112 dB
number is the sum of all the noise from 20hz to 20 Khz. Think of
spreading a cup of sugar out across the floor. It would barely change the
height of the floor. But if you gather all the sugar up in a measuring cup,
you can know how much total sugar there ismuch like the noise
measurements shown in the boxes in the graph. Click the graph for a
larger version.

NOISE BANDWIDTH AND

WEIGHTING: Typically noise is the sum
of all energy within the audio band. Ideally
the bandwidth is specified for un-weighted
measurements. A-Weighting is often used
which adjusts the measurement for the
relative sensitivity of the ear at different
frequencies and also limits the bandwidth.
Another weighting standard is ITU-R 468. For gear thats prone to a lot
of out-of-band ultrasonic noise, such as Class-D amplifiers and digital
equipment, a wideband noise measurement up to about 100 Khz can also
sometimes be useful in addition to weighted/limited measurements.
COMPARING NOISE MEASUREMENTS: You can only directly
compare noise measurements given in dBu, dBv, or dBr at the same
reference level. And they must use a similar bandwidth and all be either
unweighted or weighted the same way. Otherwise, you cant compare
the numbers without at least doing some math and sometimes you cant
compare them at all. Here are some examples:
RMAA Unfortunately RMAA has no concept of absolute levels.
So it cant calculate noise levels referenced to any known value. It
attempts to calculate dynamic range against ) dBFS (the clipping
level of the DAC itself) but even that is subject to wide variations
in the device settings (i.e. volume, record level, etc.), calibration
settings, etc. Basically RMAA noise measurements are nearly
worthless and the noise of the PC sound hardware might be worse
than whatever youre trying to measure anyway. Some RMAA
results are comparatively arbitrary and this is one of them.
dBv to dBr If Gear A has a noise spec of 100 dBv and Gear B
is 108 dBr (ref 10 Vrms) at first glance B looks to be a significant
8 dB quieter. But A is referenced to 1 V and B 10 V. The difference
is 20*Log(10/1) = 20 dB. So B is really 20 dB worse reference to
1V or only 88 dBv. See Generic Conversions below.

 dBu to dBv These are close. To convert from dBv to dBu the
noise is 2.2 dB worse. To convert the other way its 2.2 dB better.
dBr (400 mV) to dBv I updated my own noise measurements
from dBr referenced to 400 mV to dBv (referenced to 1 volt). To
convert the old 400 mV measurement to dBv the noise improves
by 8 dB. To convert the other way, its worse by 8 dB.
Generic Conversions The generic math for the amount to add or
subtract is 20 * Log( Vref1 / Vref2). The lower the reference
voltage the worse the noise figure. Noise can also be referenced to
power instead of voltage. In that case its 10 * Log ( Pref1 /
Pref2 ).
o dBv to Volts = antilog( dBv / 20 )
o -96 dB in Volts = antilog ( 96/20 ) = 16 uV ( 0.000016 volts)
o Volts to dBv = 20 * log ( Vnoise )
Weighting Comparisons Its impossible to accurately compare
different weighting or weighted vs un-weighted as it depends on
the frequency distribution of the noise. An amp with a lot of hum,
for example, will have a proportionately lower weighted
measurement than one with only uniform hiss. In general,
however, expect an A-Weighted measurement to be about 3 to 6 dB
better than an un-weighted measurement.
SOURCE IMPEDANCE: Johnson Noise is often a dominant source of
noise in headphone amps and preamps. And its proportional to the
impedance of the input circuitry which includes the source. The higher
the source impedance, the higher the noise. So, for example, a given
headphone amp might be dead silent when driven from a source with a
100 ohm impedance, but using a source with a 10K impedance could
easily produce audible noise. In this case the noise youre hearing is
really coming from the upstream source not the amp.

MEASURING NOISE: Because noise measurements are a sum of the

noise across the audio band, and extremely low in value, theyre tricky
to measure accurately. The best high-end 24 bit PC sound hardware may
have a low enough noise floor, but often cannot accept the full output of
the device being tested. And more significant, PC sound hardware has no
way to set or measure absolute levelsi.e. measurements in volts, dBv,
etc. Very few Digital Multi Meters (DMMs) have the resolution and low
enough internal noise to measure accurately down to a few microvolts of
AC from 20 hz to 20 Khz. It is, in theory, possible to temporarily
calibrate a 24 bit soundcard using a known accurate meter and suitable
test tones. But its tricky to do accurately and apply to whatever software
is being used. The source impedance is also an issue. Manufactures tend
to short circuit the inputs for the best noise number, a more realistic test
is to use a shunt resistance equal to the output impedance of a typical
source. If you try to use a real source, its noise will also be included in
the measurement (as with RMAA). Also, when measuring a source with
a DAC its necessary to use a very low level test signal as DACs shut off
completely giving an unrealistic noise value if there is nothing to play. A
proper audio analyzer can remove the low level signal from the
measurement leaving just the noise.
RMAA MEASUREMENTS: Even if you somehow calibrate the levels,
you still dont know what RMAA is doing internally. Its a magic black
box with no credible documentation about how it arrives at its final
numbers. What bandwidth is being used? Is the result weighted or unweighted? Plus the unknown output noise of the RMAA sound
hardware is included in the measurement by design. Ultimately, the best
way to make noise measurements is with an audio analyzer such as those
from Audio Precision and Prism Sound.
BOTTOM LINE: Noise of around 105 dBv (referenced to 1 volt) will
nearly always be inaudible. Noise around -95 dBv is probably good
enough for many. Noise referenced to other values must be converted
to dBv or another consistent reference before it can be fairly compared.
RMAA values are nearly useless because RMAA has no concept of

absolute levels. It can only provide dynamic range and it often gets even
that wrong because its difficult to set the levels properly without proper
instrumentation.