Reading the Processing Meters
When enabled in the Display menu, the processing meters offer a wealth of information about input and output levels and the amount of activity taking place in the various processing stages.
Note - Whether or not you see activity in each metering section depends upon the preset, individual settings, and program material. In order to try and display as many of the meters as possible here for illustration purposes, many of the controls were adjusted to extreme settings just to drive the meters without regard for what the processed audio sounded like. In other words, you're unlikely ever to see all of these light up at once in the real world!
Input and Output Meters
The ITU BS.1770 input meters (1B) show the loudness of the unprocessed source audio at the input of the processor. Peak indicators (1A) float over the input meter bars. The ideal average level at the input is -18 dB; levels should never exceed -12 dB on average. Source material that has been normalized to an established loudness standard (such as EBU R128) ensures the most consistent results throughout the audio chain.
The output meters (1C) show the levels at the output of the processor.
Input AGC and Wideband AGC Meters
The Input AGC meter (2A) is represented by a bright yellow bar that shows the level and processing activity of the Input AGC.
The Wideband AGC 1 meter (2B) displays as a dark orange extension of the Input AGC meter. Not all presets use this processing stage, and even in those that do, there may be little to no visible activity in this meter depending upon the program material.
The Input AGC Gate Threshold and Input AGC Freeze Threshold indicators (2C) appear at the bottom of the Input AGC meter. When the input audio falls below the level set by the Gate Threshold control - which slows the release rate by a factor of three - the indicator lights a dim red. When it falls below the level set by the Freeze Threshold control - which completely stops any gain changes - the indicator lights a brighter red color.
The Wideband AGC 2 meter (2D) is located to the right of the multiband AGC meters when used as a post-multiband or bass compressor. When used as an additional pre-multiband compressor, it will extend as an additional dark orange bar on the Input AGC meter.
The Wideband AGC 3 meter (not shown) will also have its own meter when it is enabled.
Note: The scale to the left of the meters can show levels below threshold (positive numbers) and above threshold (negative numbers) and will slide up and down when certain individual processing parameters are changed.
Multiband AGC Meters
The Downward Expander meters (3A) show the level and activity of the downward expanders in each band as a dark red bar.
The Multiband AGC meters (3A) are represented by a bright yellow bar that shows the level and processing activity of each individual band.
The Multiband Compressor meters (3C) shows the level and activity in each band as a dark orange extension of the multiband AGC meters when using presets that use this processing stage.
The Multiband Limiter meters (3D) show the level and activity in each band as a bright red extension of the multiband AGC meters.
The Multiband Gate Threshold and Multiband Freeze Threshold indicators (2C) appear at the bottom of the multiband AGC meters. When the input audio falls below the level set by the Gate Threshold control - which slows the release rate by a factor of three - the indicator lights a dim red. When it falls below the level set by the Freeze Threshold control - which completely stops any gain changes - the indicator lights a brighter red color. In presets that use the Dry Voice Detector, this bar will turn green when that feature is active.
Note - The Multiband Gate and Freeze Thresholds are a common setting to all bands in the multiband section. When the audio of any single individual band falls below the set threshold, all bands in the multiband AGC will gate or freeze. This helps preserve the overall spectral balance during gated conditions.
FM and HD Limiter Meters
The FM Final Limiter Meters (4A) and HD Final Limiter Meters (4B) show the amount of limiting occurring in their respective processing paths.
FM Meters - The colors of the meters will vary depending upon whether the output of the FM path is flat or has been pre-emphasized, and on how many bands of processing are used in the multiband section.
If the FM path is set to output pre-emphasized audio:
The dark red meters indicate the amount of peak limiting occurring before pre-emphasis.
The yellow meters indicate peak limiting activity after de-emphasis has been applied and serve as a visual indicator of how much audible energy is being removed.
If the FM path is set to output flat (non-pre-emphasized) audio:
The yellow meters show the amount of gain reduction being applied by the final wideband limiter.
In presets that use 6 or 7 bands of multiband processing, a two-band limiter is used ahead of the final wideband limiter. In this case, the bright red meters show the gain reduction of the low or high band (whichever is more active at the time), and the yellow meters indicate the gain reduction of the final wideband limiter which mixes both the low and high bands of the two-band limiter.
HD Meters - The HD meters work exactly as the FM meters do when the FM output is set to flat (non-pre-emphasized) audio:
The yellow meters show the amount of gain reduction being applied by the final wideband limiter.
In presets that use 6 or 7 bands of multiband processing, a two-band limiter is used ahead of the final wideband limiter. In this case, the bright red meters show the gain reduction of the low or high band (whichever is more active at the time), and the yellow meters indicate the gain reduction of the final wideband limiter which mixes both the low and high bands of the two-band limiter.
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