Sony OXFORD Operation Manual page 383

System Signal to Noise Performance
Since the internal architecture of the OXF-R3 is 32 bit, with a dynamic
range of greater than 190dB in general, the system signal to noise ratio is
almost entirely dependent upon the noise performance of its sources.
Currently, the conversions from analogue to digital and back are the most
critical stages.
The OXF-R3 has two types of converter module, 4 and 8 channel units.
The more comprehensive 4 channel type have slightly better performance
than the 8 channel units.
Although the gain control resolution is 1dB, the analogue stages are
switched in 6dB steps. The 1dB steps are achieved in the digital domain,
thereby amplifying the noise of the converter stages accordingly. This
means that the greatest dynamic range is achieved where no digital
amplification takes place. In practice, the best case noise floor set by any
single input will vary depending on its gain setting as follows:
4 Ch MIC ADC Source
• Variation from -106dBfs to -112dBfs
4 Ch LINE ADC Source
• Variation from -104dBfs to -110dBfs
8 Ch ADC MIC or LINE Source
• Variation from -102dBfs to -108dBfs
Note:
The figures above are derived using a single input source. The
measurement is taken from a 24 bit digital output.
A-13
Appendixes