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<blockquote data-quote="Rob Bolling" data-source="post: 74365" data-attributes="member: 1958">Re: -18/20 dbfs quandry.Ahhh, it makes more sense now.&nbsp; In a way we were all right, you CAN use up to but just short of 0dbfs, it is just that in voltage terms, once you pass -18 you are beginning to &quot;run hot&quot; with a digital signal. You still have the brickwall of 0dbfs, but in old VU terms you would be considered &quot;in the red&quot; once you were dabbling in the -12, -9, -6 areas.&nbsp; I can see where -3 in an uncontrolled environment would be seriously risking it.&nbsp; I have always ran live sound on digital boards with individual channels peaking between -12 and -9 for the very reason you state so I guess the crux of it is that I really would have been safer @ -18.&nbsp; Coming into the digital game early on when 16 bit was all we got, (as well as being in a studio situation) we were taught to aim for -3 as this was a safe level but you were loosing/wasting signal to noise if you did not use the majority of the bits.&nbsp; I suppose with 24/32 bit that is no longer as vital an issue hence the ability to leave more headroom and still retain sonic quality.Cheers, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rob Bolling, post: 74365, member: 1958"] Re: -18/20 dbfs quandry. Ahhh, it makes more sense now. In a way we were all right, you CAN use up to but just short of 0dbfs, it is just that in voltage terms, once you pass -18 you are beginning to "run hot" with a digital signal. You still have the brickwall of 0dbfs, but in old VU terms you would be considered "in the red" once you were dabbling in the -12, -9, -6 areas. I can see where -3 in an uncontrolled environment would be seriously risking it. I have always ran live sound on digital boards with individual channels peaking between -12 and -9 for the very reason you state so I guess the crux of it is that I really would have been safer @ -18. Coming into the digital game early on when 16 bit was all we got, (as well as being in a studio situation) we were taught to aim for -3 as this was a safe level but you were loosing/wasting signal to noise if you did not use the majority of the bits. I suppose with 24/32 bit that is no longer as vital an issue hence the ability to leave more headroom and still retain sonic quality. Cheers, and enjoy the rest of your holiday. [/QUOTE]

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