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RE: LP recordings: Normalization and limiter

Thanks, Anthony,

The ability to edit waveforms to set a desired amplitude is a modern day wonder in my experience, making recording levels less critical than the old days. The only time I pay attention to input levels is if I've changed cartridges and/or phono stage settings. Using a 0.0db input sensitivity on the Tascam I typically end up with peaks at -3 to -4dB, with a range from -2 to -8dB depending on the LP.

For normalizing, I'm using the Loudness Normalization perceived loudness LUFS feature in Audacity to set average amplitude for the entire side. I do take an extra step to reduce or increase amplitude of a song or two if they are dramatically different than the rest of the side prior to normalizing.

I've been using 0.01dB as my peak limiter threshold in post-processing, just to avoid 0db glitches but perhaps I should be using a lower value. I've read that 0.3dB might be a safer margin. I haven't run into any problems with playback using two different DACs but I should check.

I record at 24-192 PCM WAV but then resample to 24-96 FLAC for NAS storage and playback, mainly because the input signal to the Tascam is 24-192 SPDIF from the SugarCube and I didn't want to use the onboard resampler of the Tascam. The sound quality at 24-96 for playback is quite good and takes up much less hard drive space than 24-192 files. I figure it won't hurt to have the finer resolution during recording in case I decide to reprocess certain files using different processes or settings or I find that some recordings warrant the 24-192 resolution for playback.

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions.

Tom


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