Change (dB, can be negative)

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Volume ratios for dB changes from -10 to +9 dB — 6 dB amplitude and 3 dB power both round to a 2x volume ratio.

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How This Tool Works

Calculation Method

Reads Change and Ratio type, then returns the result shown on this page.

Site methodology

BoringToolsKit methodology and verification standard

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Assumptions to Verify

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Worked example: why 6 dB and 3 dB both mean "double"

The two dB formulas differ only in the divisor: amplitude uses 20, power uses 10. Take a 6 dB amplitude change: the ratio is 10^(6/20) = 10^0.3. Since 10^0.3 is about 1.9953, the output level is 1.9953 times the input, and the percent change is (1.9953 - 1) x 100 = 99.53%. Enter 6 with type set to amplitude and the tool shows a volume ratio of 2 (rounded to 2 decimal places) and a 99.53% increase.

Switch type to power with the same 6 entered and the ratio becomes 10^(6/10) = 10^0.6 = 3.9811, a 298.11% increase. This is the doubling relationship in reverse: 3 dB of power equals 10^(3/10) = 1.9953, which rounds to the same 2x. That is why audio specs quote 3 dB for power doubling but 6 dB for voltage or amplitude doubling: 20 x log10(2) = 6.0206 and 10 x log10(2) = 3.0103. Try a negative value too: -10 dB amplitude gives 10^(-10/20) = 0.3162, so the signal keeps only 31.62% of its original amplitude, a 68.38% decrease.

Edge cases the log math does not save you from

The formula is a pure ratio converter, so it knows nothing about where the numbers came from. Two failure modes matter. First, 0 dB is treated as a reference point, not silence: 0 dB gives a ratio of 10^0 = 1, which the tool correctly reports as a 0% change. But entering -20 dB amplitude yields 10^(-1) = 0.1, a 90% decrease, which is valid as a ratio yet meaningless if your source was already near the noise floor, roughly -90 dBFS on 16-bit audio. A 90% cut of an inaudible signal is still inaudible.

Second, percent changes are not symmetric and do not add. Going from 0 dB to +6 dB amplitude multiplies by 1.9953, but returning from +6 dB to 0 dB is a 49.88% decrease, not 99.53%, because the base changed. Stack three +3 dB power changes and you get 10^(9/10) = 7.9433, which is 8x, not the 600% that adding 300% three times would suggest. For chained changes, enter only the total dB delta; for example, two +6 dB amplitude stages combine to 10^(12/20) = 3.9811, so enter 12 once rather than reading 99.53% twice and doubling it.