On Thu, 24 Mar 2016, jonetsu@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Mon, 21 Mar 2016 21:00:23 +0000
Fons Adriaensen <fons@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The normalisation will not really modify the mix or the dynamics.
It just adds some gain so the level is the maximum that the export
file format can handle without clipping.
In other words, it should sound just the same after you adjust
(reduce) the volume.
Now if playing back the normalised file results in clipping
or distortion, that means that either your sound card can't
handle full digital level, or you have too much gain after
the soundcard.
I see. I will experiment further. The sound card DAC levels are at
0dB. Set by the mudita24 utility for the 1010LT card. One thing you
mentioned is to lower down the volume after an export with
normalization, whereas I expected to be the same as what I have mixed.
The coment was "after" the DAC. This might include things like voltage
levels in the DAC itself or the quality of the audio amplifier in the LT
(LT means cheap version BTW) or the levels in monitoring system the Audi
IF plugs into.
Also the recording levels are barely reaching -24dB. This might be too
low. One Harrison tutorial, one gain staging I think, mentions that
with DAWs it is preferable to record at a lower volume, like -15dB, and
then to enlarge the waveforms in the DAW.
There is a bit of difference from -24 to -15, yes, but it should not make
a big difference except any dynamic processing will not work with default
values. Mixbus has dynamic processors built into every track so if you
don't want it, make sure it is turned off. However, all things
being equal, normalizing the level so the highest peak is one value below
full scale should not change the sound. I would try running your
normalized audio with your DAC level set to -10 or -14 and see if the
sound is ok that way. I don't know about the LT, but my D66 allows setting
the output level to +4 or -10, most consumer amplifiers expect -10 and
will sound really bad if you apply +4 levels to their inputs.
Note: I think the output level setting is a jumper setting on the card
itself. I run +4 on mine as my mixer likes that level but I do have my DAC
level set to -6 right now (I can't remember why, but I think things
sounded less good with higher :) )
If you export without normalizing the audio because your monitoring audio
chain is using wrong levels, be aware that people listening to your mixes
will find them quiet.
--
Len Ovens
www.ovenwerks.net
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