ExpertGlossary

• The unit of measure used to indicate relative changes in signal intensity or sound volume. The actual expression for calculating the difference in decibels between signal A and signal B is:

  decibel (dB) = 20·logbase10 (signal A amplitude/signal B amplitude)

  +6 dB represents a doubling of the signal or a 100% increase
  +5 dB represents a 78% increase
  +4 dB represents a 58% increase
  +3 dB represents a 41% increase
  +2 dB represents a 26% increase
  +1 dB represents a 12% increase
  +0 dB represents no change-signals are equal
  -1 dB represents a 11% decrease
  -2 dB represents a 21% decrease
  -3 dB represents a 29% decrease
  -4 dB represents a 37% decrease
  -5 dB represents a 44% decrease
  -6 dB represents a halving of the signal or a 50% decrease
  Council on Library and Information Resources - Cite This Source - This Definition

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