On Fri, 7 Dec 2018 12:09:43 +0100
Gabriele Fergola <work...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is the 0 on vu meter real 0 or is around -13dB?
Your audio processor is showing you db below digital clip.
( clip is a catastrophic system failure )
Rivendell 0 is showing you the normal, sane operating
standard adopted many years ago.
It's actually 10 db higher than the historic standard
built into analog consoles of my day.
There's quite a bit in the archives about reference level.
What's not there, just as FYI...
In my day, reference level was based on a 400 hertz sign wave
recorded on tape at a magnetic flux of 100 nano-webers.
The AC voltage at the head depended on the head physics, and
on the bias level recorded on the tape.
Higher bias produces much better fidelity, but subtracts
directly from dynamic range.
The following amplifiers were calibrated to produce 0 reference
level when that standard tape was played.
Most normal audio had an apparent discrepancy with standard level
of about four to one, so in order for an an operator striving
to constantly maintain an average at 0, the amplifiers would need
about 20 db or so of headroom to avoid clip.
In analog, clip is annoying, but not catastrophic.
Still, we're professionals, so please try to act like one !
Thus, standard level was generally about 20-26 db below the rails.
The rail being the power supply voltage, and thus the absolute maximum
instantaneous peak that could ever hope to be achieved, assuming
the supply didn't sag.
Attempting to run above standard to get "loud" is simply unprofessional,
as well as risky dangerous to fidelity, ( opinion ) and stupid !
If you want loud, add an amplifier. That's what they do.
--
Cowboy
Grief is the Reminder that we Loved.
And were Loved.
_______________________________________________
Rivendell-dev mailing list
Rivendell-dev@lists.rivendellaudio.org
http://caspian.paravelsystems.com/mailman/listinfo/rivendell-dev
