Lowering the 'Noise Floor'

[Rocker]

Down the years I have read much about various hi-fi components lowering the noise floor. Implied is the message that lowering the noise floor increases the dynamic range of the system. I cannot comment on such claims but recent activity in our house did lower the noise floor. And the important word here is noise.

The background is that when I last mowed our lawn, a small stone flew and hit the largest panel in one of our front windows. Our house had replacement uPVC double glazed windows fitted about twenty three years ago. The outer panel of the affected window broke into thousands of pieces. We contacted the local window company who sent a representative to measure up a replacement panel. We asked him to check the other windows as some had problems opening and closing and others were draughty. He explained about the window opening seals which had become hard due to their age. The opening and closing problems were due to worn hinges. Nothing for it but bite the bullet and ask for a quotation for the work. A week or so later he turned up and fitted the window panel and replaced all the seals and the worn hinges. It seems that these items need checking/replacing ever fifteen years, something we were totally unaware of.

The effect was dramatic to say the least. Road noise, from the motorways, disappeared. As did wind noise. And the persistent staccato like noise from the construction of a nearby solar farm, it too disappeared. Early morning traffic no longer woke us up. It was like a new dawn. To confirm what I was [not] hearing I opened the dB App on my phone. On our doorstep it showed an average of 75 dB but when I took a step into the house and closed the door, the average reading was 65 dB. So we were not imagining it, the App showed a big drop in sound levels. I don't understand the dB scale but the sound reduction is both real and noticeable.

Our music room is now much quieter and the music from the hi-fi sounds clearer and more dynamic. Even an acoustic guitar played in this room sounds brighter and the notes more distinct. The work on the windows was not cheap but the benefits are more than worth the expenditure. And the sound improvement from my hi-fi system is a bonus. Seriously worth investigating if your uPVC windows are fifteen or more years in place.

[cybot]

For once lowering the noise floor means exactly what you describe and, more importantly, you can actually hear the difference. Enjoy.