Glossary → Audio fundamentals
Audio fundamentals
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
Signal-to-noise ratio compares desired audio to background noise, in decibels — higher SNR means cleaner recordings and measurably better transcription accuracy.
SNR is the audio-side variable that dominates real-world ASR performance: the same model that nails a quiet room degrades on café recordings. Close miking is the cheapest SNR upgrade there is.
Related terms
Noise floorThe noise floor is the constant background level present in a recording when nobody is speaking — room tone, e…
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