Decibels and watts are common terms used when describing audio equipment. In general, decibels are a measurement of loudness, while watts measure amplifier power. The details can be confusing, so here’s an explanation of what these specifications mean and how they relate to each other.

A decibel is made up of two words: deci, meaning one-tenth, and bel, a unit named after Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.

Bel is a unit of sound and a decibel (dB) is one tenth of a bel. The human ear is sensitive to a range of sound levels: from 0 decibels, which is complete silence for human hearing, to 130 decibels, which causes pain. The volume of 140 dB can cause hearing damage if endured for a long time, while a sound level of 150 dB can burst your eardrums, which can immediately damage your hearing. Sound above this level can be physically damaging and even fatal.

Some examples of sounds and their decibels: