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The Decibel as a Logarithmic Ratio

Amplitude in voice work is almost never reported linearly. Students must see that a decibel is a ratio to a reference, not an absolute quantity, and that the reference changes meaning completely between a sound-level meter and a digital file. Without this, every level figure and every spectrogram grey scale is misread.

Questions this Concept answers

The same vowel is logged as one number by a sound-level meter and a very different number inside a digital audio file. Why?

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The Decibel Scale in Audio Production

The decibel is a logarithmic ratio unit used in audio production to express sound pressure and signal levels relative to a reference value, compressing the vast dynamic range of human auditory percep…