Occam's Razor: The Signal to Noise Ratio

LOL

you got it backwards, simplest comes first. i.e. the simplest explanation is most often correct.

The origin and purpose are mostly unknown to us, I went to wiki:

" William of Ockham himself seems to restrict the operation of this principle in matters pertaining to miracles and God’s power, considering a plurality of miracles possible in the Eucharist^{[further explanation needed]} simply because it pleases God.^[12]"

Thus, better S/N ratio must please God.

Signal to noise can apply to all waveforms, not just electrical. Perhaps emphasizing the term waveform rather than signal would be helpful.  I regard them as synonymous.

In the analog audio world, the signal exists as a waveform. The original acoustic waveform hits a microphone that transduces this acoustic signal into an electrical waveform. For recorded music, this electrical waveform is then transcribed into bits in the digital world, a physical groove on a record, magnetic energy on a tape. Our various devices (DAC, phono cartridge, tape head) convert this stored version back into an electrical waveform. We diligently maintain the purity, accuracy, integrity of this electrical waveform with equipment topology, vibration isolation, electrical isolation with dedicated circuits, fiberoptic cables, cable hygiene, and power conditioners.  Anything that adds, subtracts, disrupts, distorts, colors or otherwise interferes with the original waveform can be considered to lower the integrity of the original waveform/signal, either by increasing the noise or decreasing the signal. The best audio system in the world cannot leave the original electrical waveform unchanged. The electrical SNR always suffers, but the better the system, the less the damage. You know the advertising terms, “vanishingly low distortion” and “highest signal to noise ratio”. Otherwise known as retaining the original waveform.

This electrical waveform that our sources have recreated ultimately reach our speakers and are transduced back into an acoustic waveform. It includes waveforms associated with the fundamental wavelengths of the instruments and voices and their harmonics, the resonances and related acoustics of the recording space and even the occasional contribution of a cough or a truck rumbling by. These all comprise the waveform/signal coming out of the speaker.  At this point, the signal can be regarded as having a very high acoustic SNR since there is no acoustic noise (distorted waveform) yet associated with the signal/waveform. (This may be the reason headphones are enjoyed by many.)  Once it leaves the speaker, this waveform, the original signal, makes a beeline to our ears but it also travels to every corner of our room, where it is reflected and after a while, makes it to our ears as well. If these waveform reflections that are relatively loud hit our ears within the window during which we cannot distinguish their arrival time from the incoming original waveform, they become the noise that competes with the original signal/waveform and consequently lowers the signal to noise ratio. Reducing these competing waveforms in number or amplitude through absorption or diffusion will increase your SNR. You do want to retain some reflections for a sense of space and ambiance so pure absorption is not indicated. You just want fewer or softer competing waveforms (noise) so the original waveform (signal) predominates. Before I had my dedicated room, I would rearrange the living room furniture when my wife was away and place freestanding 2x4 acoustic absorbers at the first reflection points for extended listening sessions. This simple addition made a huge difference and made me a believer.

As related examples in an  acoustic vein, speaker isolation footers/stands and stiff cabinetry enhance SNR by ensuring the acoustic waveform from the driver is created only by the electrical signal and not by physical vibrations rattling the driver and creating extraneous and competing waveforms. Phono cartridges, platters and tonearms are isolated to avoid extraneous influences that would change the way the stylus is able to faithfully retrieve and transmit only the information from the signal embedded in the groove. If you think something is interfering with any of your waveforms/signals before they reach your ears, fix it if you can. Any wave, anywhere. Source, electronics, speakers and perhaps most significantly, your listening room. You have paid good money and paid close attention to the SNR up to the point the signal leaves your speaker.  Why stop there?

Occam’s Razor: The simplest explanation for why a change in your system sounds better is because you improved the SNR somewhere along the chain (you kept your waveform as close to the original as possible).