VU METER MCINTOSH HOW TO
VU METER MCINTOSH FULL

The McIntosh RS200 wireless speaker comes with a user manual, a warranty card, a remote control and foam feet. The manufacturer already impressed us during our reviews of the McIntosh MA-252 vacuum tube amp and the McIntosh MHA100 headphone amplifier and DAC. No matter the model, musical enjoyment has been at the forefront for over 70 years. Its power amplifiers, vacuum tube preamplifiers, DAC amplifiers, stereo amps, A/V preamps, turntables and, more recently, wireless speakers all provide extraordinary performance. 70 years after its creation, McIntosh features an extensive catalog. To this day, this distinctive look remains a trademark of McIntosh.

It was only in the sixties that the brand first integrated its large, blue backlit VU meters housed behind a polished glass front panel. Very quickly, the company branched out and commercialized its first preamplifiers, the EA1 and C8. Its very first device, the McIntosh 50W-1 power amplifier was a great success, characterized by its ability to deliver an extensive amount of power whilst retaining an extremely low distortion rate.

VU METER MCINTOSH FULL

Is there really any need to introduce McIntosh? Since its creation in Maryland in 1949 by Frank McIntosh, the brand, whose full appellation is McIntosh Laboratory, has been a frontrunner in the hi-fi domain. It has become standard practice to remove the headroom margin when it is no longer required, after final post-production and mastering of the final mix, which is why commercial music averages about -12dBFS or so and peaks to 0dBFS.The McIntosh RS200 active speaker is an ultra-versatile model that serves as a wireless speaker, a multi-room speaker, a USB DAC and a soundbar. The clipping point is always at 0dBFS, and so, if you build in the same kind of headroom margin in a digital system as we've always enjoyed in the analogue world, you need to average the signal level at around -20dBFS, at least while recording (tracking) and mixing, with transient peaks kicking up to about -6dBFS occasionally. As most good analogue equipment clips at around +24dBu, there is usually about 20dB of headroom to capture fast transient peaks that the meter can't show when the signal is averaging at around 0VU.ĭigital peak meters, in contrast, do show (most) transient peaks and do show the headroom margin. A nominal operating level would be 0VU, which normally equates to +4dBu in the analogue world. This means that when signals are averaging around the 0VU point there is about 20dB of headroom to capture the fast transient peaks that the meter can't show. Most decent analogue equipment clips at about +24dBu.

They indicate signal levels around the nominal operating level and they don't show the headroom margin at all.ĠVU is the nominal operating level and, in the analogue world, that is usually (but not always) +4dBu. SOS Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: The VU meter (and the PPM) are analogue tools designed for the analogue world. I think I remember reading that VU meters didn't respond to high transients very well, hence going into the red, so that would make sense.Via SOS web site If my aim is to have the average level around or slightly above 0VU, I take it that going into the red is OK, as long as the average level is around 0VU. I am fine with the VU meter showing gain reduction on a compressor, but when it comes to the output reading - for example, +4dB or +10dB on the same compressor - I am not sure for what I am aiming for, output-wise? Am I right in thinking that the nominal operating level should be averaging at around 0VU?Also, I think I need to catch up on my dBus and my dBFSs.

VU METER MCINTOSH HOW TO

I have recently invested in the range of UAD2 plug-ins, but am afraid I am not sure how to read the VU meters correctly.

Vu meter mcintosh