Audio Engineering

Metering (2)

The Music Telegraph | Text 2019/07/16 [19:10]
Audio Engineering

Metering (2)

The Music Telegraph| 입력 : 2019/07/16 [19:10]

 

▲ VU meter    

© TeePublic



 

Metering (2)

 

The Good, the Bad, the Fast, the Slow

 

In past, we depended on the VU meter to determine how much level was going through our (analog) consoles and onto (analog) tape. All seemed fine. Pop music had a nice indefinable "crunch" to it. You could exceed 0 VU by a lot and not much seemed to be wrong when you listenedto playback. However, in the classical music world and over in Europe, where more attention was paid to the dangers of overload distortion, sonic problems associated with the slow response of the VU caused problems. After all, if a sound came and went before the 300 ms rise time of the VU meter could react, then how could you use the VU meter to adjust its level? You couldn't. So another type of meter was developed that had a much faster rise time. (6 - 10 micro seconds) and a slow fall time. It allows you to see the instantaneous peak value of a signal. It doesn't look like how we hear things, but it does give an accurate reading of the attack time of a signal, and that's a good thing for the digital world we now live in. 

 

 

Analog vs. Digital

 

In the analog world we can get away with the occasional overload level because the type of distortion that results is harmonically related to the signal and will not be rudely objectionable. In fact, in most of pop music that little bit of harmonic distortion is usually a good thing. For the analog world the VU meter is just fine. However, in the digital world, analog-to-digital converters use 16 (or 24 bits) to encode a signal. If that signal is louder than can be encoded in the bitsavailable, the signal becomes distorted in ways that bear no relationship to the audio signal. It is highly objectionable and must be avoided at all costs. Here the peak meter is best.

 

 

For best Results, Take Two

 

The VU meter with its slow response time is unsuitable for digital metering and the PPM is just the ticket. Problem is that the PPM doesn't give an indication of how loud a signal will be. For best results the knowledgeable engineer/producer will use both meters.

 

 

 

 

 

< Copyright ⓒ The Music Telegraph :: Prohibit reprinting and redistribution >
The Music Telegraph Another articles
Comment
  • 도배방지 이미지

Audio Level Meter Related Articles

광고
Most Read
1
About 'Noise'
2
Review #7 (Digital Audio)
3
Exploring Synthesis (3): Phase Distortion Synthesis
4
Equalization - Peaking EQ, Shelving EQ
5
Gate Kick Drum
6
Basic Waveforms of Synthesizer: Pulse Wave
7
'Penka's Masterclass': A 12-week Intensive Course in Soundtrack Analysis and Demo Scoring, taught by Grammy-winning Hollywood Composer Penka Kouneva
8
'VOIS': A Plug-in that Seamlessly Transforms Your Voice into Other Voices or Musical Instruments as well as Significantly Improves Audio Quality
9
Types of EQ
10
Sound wave 'Receptors' - Ear, Microphone
광고
Audio Engineering (popular articles)
광고
Most Recent
About 'Noise'
Exploring Synthesis (3): Phase Distortion Synthesis
'Penka's Masterclass': A 12-week Intensive Course in Soundtrack Analysis and Demo Scoring, taught by Grammy-winning Hollywood Composer Penka Kouneva
Aqeel Aadam 'Ridgewalk': A Wandering Granular Looper designed to Reinterpret and Reimagine Any Audio, Allowing You to Explore Sound in Unique Ways not possible before
Working on Sound of Snare Drum
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고
광고