§ 04 — Learn
learn
The numbers the noise test shows, explained once, with what they mean for a call.
- dBFS, Explained dBFS measures digital level against the loudest value a sample can hold. Why 0 is the ceiling, what −20 and −60 mean, and why call apps even you out.
- Noise Gate vs Noise Suppression A gate opens and closes the mic on a threshold; suppression removes noise while you talk. How each works, where each fails, and the clipped first word.
- Quieter Calls Without Buying a Mic Distance, aim, soft surfaces, fan placement and mute habits do more for a call than a new mic. What each change does, and how to check it with the test.
- Sample Rate and Bit Depth for Voice Chat What 44.1 and 48 kHz mean, what 16-bit buys you, what call apps send through the Opus codec, and why recording a call at 96 kHz adds nothing.
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio for Voice SNR is the gap between your voice and the noise behind it, in decibels. How the test works it out, what 20, 30 and 40 dB mean, and what suppression does.
- What a Noise Floor Is and What Yours Should Be The noise floor is the level your mic sends when nobody is talking. What the dBFS numbers mean, what mics add on their own, and how the test reads it.
- What AI Noise Suppression Can and Can't Remove Steady noise, sudden noise, other voices and music: what the filters in call apps take out, where they leave artifacts, and what runs on CPU, GPU or NPU.
- Why Bluetooth Mics Sound Bad on Calls Classic Bluetooth switches to a mono call profile when its mic is on. What A2DP and HFP do, the 8, 16 and 32 kHz voice rates, LE Audio, and what to do.