RE: Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual.

Posted by Tony Lauck (A) on March 26, 2012 at 13:05:36

In Reply to: Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual. posted by Dave Pogue on March 26, 2012 at 11:21:25:

If the cassette deck is playing a tape that is reading around 0 on the dec's VU meter then you will want the digital peak levels to be around -11 dBfs or even a bit lower if you are using metal tapes, as these can easily put out undistorted +10 analog signals.

Soundforge has a mode for it's "channel meters" that provides a variety of VU scales that average over a short period. The best one to use is the Nordic PPM. If it's reading above 0 VU it gives a warm feeling of "loud enough" while still retaining substantial head room. Other editors may have similar capabilities.

You can make up a calibration tape of band limited pink noise, that you can get from Bob Katz' web site. Record this on the tape at 0 VU and then adjust your recording gain so that you get the same levels on a copy you make of the cassette tape as you get when you play the original file you downloaded. I believe this will work for all but the very hottest cassette tapes, but I haven't tried it because I'm not set up to record on my deck at present, so let me know if this doesn't pan out.

I list various ways of approaching this problem not because it is necessary to use all of them, but to give a feel for what might be available. There is even a better system that Bob Katz advocates and that is to ignore all the meters completely after calibrating one's speakers to a fixed setting. Then when one makes a recording (e.g. does a transfer) one simply adjusts the volume one hears in one's speakers until it sounds "right". One needs his test file and a Rat Shack SPL meter to set up the system plus repeatable settings on one's volume control.

Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - How hard should I strive to get maximum signal? - Phil_in_CA 18:24:04 03/24/12 (21)

Look for the Max Signal Level Prior to Digitizing.................... - Todd Krieger 22:31:40 03/24/12 (1)

RE: Look for the Max Signal Level Prior to Digitizing.................... - Phil_in_CA 09:42:50 03/25/12 (0)

don't record hot in digital - Joe Murphy Jr 21:07:33 03/24/12 (9)

That's what I've heard and read, but ... - Dave Pogue 09:10:51 03/26/12 (5)

RE: That's what I've heard and read, but ... - Tony Lauck 10:52:45 03/26/12 (0)

two possibilities - Joe Murphy Jr 09:47:42 03/26/12 (3)

Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual. - Dave Pogue 11:21:25 03/26/12 (2)

RE: Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual. - Tony Lauck 13:05:36 03/26/12 (1)

Thanks again, but ... - Dave Pogue 14:23:52 03/26/12 (0)

RE: don't record hot in digital - Tony Lauck 10:04:35 03/25/12 (2)

RE: don't record hot in digital - tom.dennehy 22:10:39 03/25/12 (1)

RE: don't record hot in digital - Tony Lauck 07:46:43 03/26/12 (0)

Thanks! - Phil_in_CA 19:43:22 03/24/12 (4)

RE: Thanks! - Iron Knee 22:50:27 03/24/12 (3)

RE: Thanks! - Tony Lauck 08:08:28 03/25/12 (2)

RE: Thanks! - Iron Knee 10:21:20 03/25/12 (1)

RE: Thanks! - Tony Lauck 11:01:06 03/25/12 (0)

RE: How hard should I strive to get maximum signal? - Tony Lauck 19:36:23 03/24/12 (2)

RE: How hard should I strive to get maximum signal? - tom.dennehy 04:34:49 03/26/12 (1)

Trust but Verify - Tony Lauck 08:03:16 03/26/12 (0)

Any level above -6 dB uses all the bits ... nt - slider 18:43:08 03/24/12 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual. - Tony Lauck 13:05:36 03/26/12 (1)

Thanks again, but ... - Dave Pogue 14:23:52 03/26/12 (0)

RE: Thanks, just dragged out the owner's manual.

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