The Meters; Peak Hold Modes - Alesis ADAT-HD24 Reference Manual

The meters

Each of the tracks has its own 10-segment LCD
meter, with levels ranging from CLIP (0 dBFS) to
–60 dB. Levels within 6 dB (1 bit) of clipping are
shown in yellow. The standard nominal level for
ADAT, -15 dBFS, is two segments below that color
change. (The "-15" label is shown in red; this level
will usually equal "0 VU" on an analog mixer
connected to the input.)

Peak hold modes

Since the peak level is the crucial issue in digital
recording, the meters are designed to hold the
highest peak for a period of time, if you wish, using
the buttons to the right of the meter. The ballistics
of the meters are controlled by the three Peak Hold
Modes and the Peak Clear button:
Continuous Peak Hold
This mode keeps the loudest signal sent to the
outputs displayed in the meter indefinitely. If a
louder signal occurs, the previous value will be
replaced by this new value.
• To clear all of the peaks, press the
button.
This mode is useful during recording when you
want to make sure that the recording levels have
never clipped, without constantly staring at the
meters. You can glance at the meters periodically,
then reduce the gain on the channels which are too
high.
ADAT HD24 Reference Manual
PEAK CLEAR
chapter 3 • basic recording and playback
Momentary Peak Hold
This mode keeps the loudest signal sent to the
outputs displayed in the meter for one second. If
a louder signal occurs, the previous value will be
replaced by this new value.
This is the default peak mode. Since the peak
levels are the most important value to monitor
while recording, Momentary Peak hold allows
you to concentrate on the peak values without
keeping them frozen on the screen.
No Peak Hold
This mode constantly updates the loudest signal
being sent to the outputs. This mode tracks the
current audio level exactly from moment to
moment.
This mode is useful for seeing the actual moment-
to-moment dynamics of the audio, but can make
it hard to see very short overloads that can
happen with instruments with a wide dynamic
range.
Peak Clear
The button instantly resets the held
PEAK CLEAR
peak values on the Meter Display.
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