Total harmonic distortion 1

Total harmonic distortion

The total harmonic distortion, or
THD, of a signal is a measurement of
the harmonic distortion present and is
defined as the ratio of the sum of the
powers of all harmonic components to
the power of the fundamental
frequency. Lesser THD allows the
components in a loudspeaker, amplifier
or microphone or other equipment to
produce a more accurate reproduction An animation illustrating harmonic summing

by reducing harmonics added by

electronics and audio media. A THD rating < 1% is considered to be in high-fidelity and inaudible to the human ear.

Explanation
To understand a system with an input and an output, such as an audio amplifier, we start with an ideal system where
the transfer function is linear and time-invariant. When a signal passes through a non-ideal, non-linear device,
additional content is added at the harmonics of the original frequencies. THD is a measurement of the extent of that
distortion.
When the input is a pure sine wave, the measurement is most commonly the ratio of the sum of the powers of all
higher harmonic frequencies to the power at the first harmonic, or fundamental, frequency:

which can equivalently be written as

Measurements based on amplitudes (e.g. voltage or current) must be converted to powers to make addition of
harmonics distortion meaningful. For a voltage signal, for example, the ratio of the squares of the RMS voltages is
equivalent to the power ratio:

where Vn is the RMS voltage of nth harmonic and n=1 is the fundamental frequency.
THD is also commonly defined as an amplitude ratio rather than a power ratio,[1] resulting in a definition of THD
which is the square root of that given above:

This latter definition is commonly used in audio distortion (percentage THD) specifications. It is unfortunate that
these two conflicting definitions of THD (one as a power ratio and the other as an amplitude ratio) are both in
common usage. The power THD can be higher than 100% and is known as IEEE, but for audio measurements 100%
is preferred as maximum, thus the IEC version is used (used by Rohde & Schwartz, Bruel and Kjær).
Total harmonic distortion 2

As a result, THD is a non-standardized specification and the results between manufacturers are not easily
comparable. Since individual harmonic amplitudes are measured, it is required that the manufacturer disclose the test
signal frequency range, level and gain conditions, and number of measurements taken. It is possible to measure the
full 20–20 kHz range using a sweep. For all signal processing equipment, except microphone preamplifiers, the
preferred gain setting is unity. For microphone preamplifiers, standard practice is to use maximum gain.
Measurements for calculating the THD are made at the output of a device under specified conditions. The THD is
usually expressed in percent as distortion factor or in dB as distortion attenuation.

THD+N
THD+N means total harmonic distortion plus noise. This measurement is much more common and more
comparable between devices. It is usually measured by inputting a sine wave, notch filtering the output, and
comparing the ratio between the output signal with and without the sine wave:

A meaningful measurement must include the bandwidth of measurement. This measurement includes effects from
intermodulation distortion, interference, and so on, in addition to harmonic distortion. In Europe, it is preferable to
apply a ITU-R BS.468 weighed curve, which is intended to accentuate what is most audible to the human ear,
contributing to a more accurate measurement. However, as the weight of the curve adds 12 dB of gain to the critical
midband, making THD+N measurements bigger, manufacturers object to its use and have widely prevented its
adoption in American and Asian markets.
For a given input frequency and amplitude, THD+N is equal to SINAD, provided that both measurements are made
over the same bandwidth.[2]

See also
• Audio system measurements
• ITU-R BS.468
• SINAD
• Timbre
• THD analyzer

External links
• Explanation of THD measurements [3]
• Rane audio's definition of both THD and THD+N [4]
• Conversion: Distortion attenuation in dB to distortion factor THD in % [5]

References
[1] Slone, G. Randy (2001). The audiophile's project sourcebook. McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics. p. 10. ISBN 0071379290.
[2] Kester, Walt. "Tutorial MT-003: Understand SINAD, ENOB, SNR, THD, THD + N, and SFDR so You Don't Get Lost in the Noise Floor"
(http:/ / www. analog. com/ static/ imported-files/ tutorials/ MT-003. pdf) (PDF). Analog Devices. . Retrieved 1 April 2010.
[3] http:/ / www. dogstar. dantimax. dk/ tubestuf/ thdconv. htm
[4] http:/ / www. rane. com/ note145. html
[5] http:/ / www. sengpielaudio. com/ calculator-thd. htm
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