Total harmonic distortion

Okay kiddo, imagine listening to your favorite song on your stereo, but something doesn't sound quite right. It's like some of the sounds are mixed up or not clear. That's what we call "distortion" in music.

Now, imagine that distortion happening all the time in every musical sound. That's what we call "total harmonic distortion" or THD. It's when the different parts of a sound get jumbled up and don't sound the way they're supposed to.

THD happens when any electrical device, like your stereo or your phone, tries to create sound waves that are not perfectly smooth. These imperfections can cause the sound waves to mix up and create a distortion that you can hear.

So when we talk about THD, we're trying to measure how much of that distortion is happening in a sound. The lower the THD percentage, the less distorted the sound is. And that means it's going to sound clearer and more like it's supposed to.

So when you're listening to your music, be sure to pay attention to how clear the sounds are. If you notice any distortion, it might mean there's too much total harmonic distortion happening.