VU Meter

[SkipB]

I'm sure a lot of folks know about the free VU Meter at http://www.vuplayer.com . Anyway It was very useful coupled with a 1khz sine to accurately get my A/D Converter level up to snuff. I figured I would share this with those who didn't know about it. This one covers from 0 to -30 db and you can set it to whatever you wish. Regards SkipB

[SkipB]

I read once where someone said,"The best upgrade you can do for your equipment is to get your levels correct". I have found this to be true in every aspect. Have you found yourself listening to music and are constantly increasing volume or having to lower the volume, decrease the output of your DAC or increase the input of ADC to achieve some type level that works? Now this may not apply for all persons,especially if your ripping music off a CD and Mastering in the box,but you still need to get your DAC at the right level for Monoriting. If your are using a combination of Digital and Analog outboard devices then getting levels correct can be quite perplexing. Out of all the info on the net,and some were from some reputable Mastering sites, I finally found an article that opened my eyes,and the thing was it was just a little more than a paragraph long.
http://www.audioamigo.com/articles/budbremner1.html The thing was nobody was clear about the amplitude of the test tone that I was using which was 1khz @ "0" db. The Mixer Controller I am using states that "0"= +4dbu, so I figure if I put a
1khz test tone @ 0db into the input of this mixer then when I increase the slider or trim control to the specified meter reading that this board states is 0db then I am set....WRONG!!! Not all recordings are created equal in volume,so that is why I was constantly adjusting to compensate, I was finally at the point of pulling my hair out. Since reading this article and getting my levels correct I have noticed that I am getting the same or more percieved loudness without driving RMS levels to ungodly amounts,thus losing dynamics, possible distortion and it sounds cleaner. That just makes it so much nicer when bringing it into Harbal as well. Anyway Just wanted to share this with all and Happy Mastering.

[HarBal]

I'd agree SkipB, but I'd also add that I think it probably as important to know your SPL calibration of your system. That is, once set up so your 0dB level is where you'd like it to be, what does that correspond to in actual sound pressure level measured at your listening position. For that I'd probably recommend following the guidelines set out by Bob Katz in his K-metering approach and I'd suggest K14 to probably be the most appropriate calibration.

Assuming I understand it correctly that corresponds to having a 83dB SPL eminating from your monitors for a -14dB input level, though to tell you the truth, I'd rarely listen to music that loud in normal circumstances and would probably recommend a level somewhat lower, say 76dB SPL, both for ear preservation and for the fact that most everyday, non iPod listening would occur around that level, You'll also be able to work for much longer stretches of time without any ill effects. At 83dB SPL calibration much of the transient material will be peaking way above 85dB, which is the accepted level beyond which ear damage (over time) is assured. At 76dB you've got 9dB for transient material before you hit the 85dB mark as opposed to 2dB at 83dB calibration. To me that seems kinder on the ears but should be adequately loud to hear most of the detail without difficulty.

I think in a strict K14 environment I'd end up recording at an average level significantly less that -14dB re full scale. I guess in that sense it may be best to simply find the level you are comfortable with and hopefully that level isn't so high as to be damaging to your ears. I'd certainly like to know that the levels I work at are safe, and though I don't do this for a living, the last time I checked my monitoring levels I found my preference was around 75dB SPL average.

One final point, if you should carry out such a calibration, don't do it with a sine wave reference as you are likely to damage your speakers and your ears as a 76dB SPL sine wave is very loud, owing to all the energy being concentrated at one single frequency. Also, the calibration won't be very accurate owing to standing wave effects making the frequency response very lumpy. You should use pink noise as the calibration instead.

Regards,


Paavo.

[SkipB]

What your saying here is absolutely true PAAVO. I was mainly referring to line levels through your A/D and D/A and the way I do this is with a sine of 1khz at say -16dbfs amplitude and read the output with a true RMS volt meter and gain staging through my mixer controller with lets say from 1.238v from my D/A Converter to .775v out of my mixer/controller then back into the A/D converter where I make an adjustment with the trim pots on the A/D converter to give me -20 or -18dbfs on the VU meter. Once this is done then I use the process of pink noise to adjust my Monitor output to K-14 LEVELS. My Monitors are not engaged until after the line level adjustment ,as not to put sine wave noise through them. Regards Skip B

[Gordon Gidluck]

I have been using this meter.

http://www.sonoris.nl/catalog/meter-p-3 ... 7a44b41dba

It was written by someone doing mastering. It's a VST plugin. It's has pink noise built into the meter and supports the K-system. Pink noise can be toggled left speaker, right speaker or both.

It makes it easy to calibrate your monitor levels for movie sound, CD's or broadcast. It can also detect intersample peaks.