This is the measured ratio of signal to (noise + distortion) at the output of the ADC. The signal is the rms amplitude of the fundamental. Noise is the rms sum of all nonfundamental signals up to half the sampling frequency (fS/2), excluding dc. The ratio is dependent upon the number of quantization levels in the digitization process; the more levels, the smaller the quantization noise. The theoretical signal to (noise + distortion) ratio for an ideal N-bit converter with a sine wave input is given by:
Signal to(Noise + Distortion)=(6.02N + 1.76) dB
Thus for a 12-bit converter, this is 74 dB.