Can anyone explain -

 

I know its a logarithmic scale and not a linear scale.

so approx every 3db doubles noise.

10db is a tenfold increase

and a 20db gain is 100 times louder.

 

so if youve got a device at 58dBa and another at 43dBa how much quieter is it?

 

is it about 18 times quieter?

in theory yes .. in practice no .. you have to take into consideration background noises etc and that could take all day to sit n go through lol.. but you will hear a noticable difference

cheers bud, its for work - new printers etc in busy areas and noise consideration is a major factor - they need dot matrix printers so am just weighing up which ones are quietest compared to what they have at the moment (that they're complaining about).

 

Thanks

53Bda is lower than the safty level

Can anyone explain -

 

I know its a logarithmic scale and not a linear scale.

so approx every 3db doubles noise.

10db is a tenfold increase

and a 20db gain is 100 times louder.

 

so if youve got a device at 58dBa and another at 43dBa how much quieter is it?

 

is it about 18 times quieter?

 

18 times quieter no, it should be 4 times quieter to you ear. db's are measured logarithmically because that's how our ears perceive sound.

 

Getting back to your issue: Depending on the nature of the print jobs etc, and budget of course, you could always buy that noisy printer you've always wanted - provided you buy an acoustic hood or enclosure for it.