The purpose of this page is to show the relationship between digital resolution, in bits; to analog accuracy, given in terms of Harmonic Distortion and Signal to Noise Ratio.
Summary of Results Number of Bits My Opinion
SNR/THD
Test Parameter
1 kHz Total Harmonic Distortion Signal to Noise Ratio 16 Excellent/Excellent 0.0028% 92 dB 15 Excellent/Excellent 0.0041% 88 dB 14 Excellent/Excellent 0.0068% 83 dB 13 Very Good/Very Good
0.013% 77 dB 12 Very Good/Very Good 0.024% 72 dB 11 Very Good/Good 0.05% 66 dB 10 Good/Good 0.1% -60 dB 9 Good/Good 0.2% -54 dB 8 Good/Poor 0.4% -48 dB 7 Poor/Poor 0.8% -42 dB 6 Poor/Very Poor 0.16% -36 dB 5 Poor/Very Poor 0.32% -30 dB 4 Poor/Very Poor 0.64% -24 dB Software Used: Test data was reated with CoolEdit Pro 1.1 , truncated using a custom-written Visual Basic Program. Signal analysis by SpectraLab 3.32.14. TeDis
Discussion Of Results
Suspected problems with the analytical program seem to be affecting results below 13 bits. For every bit added, THD should drop by a factor of 2, and SNR should improve by 6 dB. Correct results below 13 bits would show a little less distortion and noise. For 16 bits, the expected results were 96 dB SNR and 0.0015% THD.
| Bits and Resolution - 16 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 16 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 15 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 15 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 14 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 14 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 13 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 13 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 12 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 12 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 11 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 11 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 10 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 10 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 9 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 9 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 10 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 8 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 7 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 7 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 6 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 6 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 5 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
|
| Bits and Resolution - 5 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| Bits and Resolution - 4 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
![]() |
| Bits and Resolution - 4 bit 1 KHz Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise |
| PC AV Tech |
| Send questions or comments on the PC AV Tech Soundcard Test webpages to Arny Krueger |
| Website Art Direction by David
Carlstrom Tests and Report Design by Arny Krueger Custom Visual Basic program courtesy of Paul Dormer. |
| All material on this
page is Arny Krueger's personal opinion, provided for
entertainment purposes only. See web site disclaimer for details (c) 1998, Arnold B. Krueger. All rights reserved. |
| Please let The
Webmaster know of any
problems you encounter on this website. This Page Last Revised 2/06/99 (abk) |