Levels In The Digital Domain - Lexicon LEXICON480LV4 Owner's Manual

Lexicon 480L Owner's Manual

Levels in the Digital Domain

Analog signals, by nature, have an infinite range of
level. During conversion to digital, levels are quantized
to absolute values, and expressed as a number of bits.
The 480L provides 18-bit resolution in both the analog
and digital paths. In the digital domain, it is important to
provide adequate headroom so that peak amplitude
does not exceed dBFS. The difference between the
headroom provided and the dither noise, or least
significant bit, is the usable dynamic range of the
system.
As you can see in the figure below, the 480L provides
signal-to-noise and dynamic range that exceed many
popular digital recording media.
# Bits Dynamic Range
in dB
1 dBFS
2 -6 dB
3 -12 dB
4 -18 dB
5 -24 dB
6 -30 dB
7 -36 dB
8 -42 dB
9 -48 dB
10 -54 dB
11 -60 dB
12 -66 dB
13 -72 dB
14 -84 dB
15 -90 dB
16 -96 dB
17 -102 dB
18 -108 dB
Dynamic Range of Digital Signal Path
2-12
LARC Meters Use of Dynamic Range
+12 dB
+6 dB
0 dB
-6 dB
-12 dB
-18 dB
-24 dB
84 dB Dynamic Range
18 dB Headroom
102 dB Theoretical Dynamic Range
18 Bit Dither Noise
in an 18 bit system
HEADROOM
Use of Dynamic Range
in a 16 bit system
HEADROOM
78 dB Dynamic Range
12 dB Headroom
90 dB Theoretical Dynamic Range
16 Bit Dither Noise