The objective is to lower the noise floor during recording. To achieve this, we aim to record in a quiet environment, minimizing ambient noise. Additionally, it is crucial to properly configure our recording system to prevent any noise from being introduced into the setup. # Ambient Noise Ambient noise could refer to the background sounds present in an environment, such as the humming of an air conditioner. ![[Sources of Noise - Ambient Noise.excalidraw.svg]] # Pre-Amp Noise Pre-amplifiers tend to add noise, particularly when you turn the gain potentiometers up to the top 10 percent of their range. It is usually wise to avoid cranking the pre-amp gain that high. Instead, you can use a cloud lifter to add clean gain to the circuit, which helps prevent the introduction of undesirable pre-amp noise. # Microphone Self Noise All microphones generate some level of noise. This inherent noise is referred to as self-noise, and details about it can typically be found on the microphone's specification sheet. Here are the self-noise specifications for the Neumann U87. ![[Sources of Noise .excalidraw.svg]] # Digital System Noise Bit depth determines the digital noise floor. A 16-bit system has a noise floor of 96 dB, while a 24-bit system achieves a noise floor of 144 dB. ![[Sources of Noise - Digital Noise Floor.excalidraw.svg]] # Analog Noise To be expanded on...