M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496 Manual page 18

PEAK METERS: Each peak meter indicates an audio signal level in "dB relative
to full-scale." This means that a full-scale signal is referred to as "0 dB" and a signal
that is 12dB 'quieter' than full-scale is referred to as "-12dB." The meters are
vertically color-coded into three sections: green, yellow and red. The green section
represents a safe zone, ranging from approximately -48dB to -12dB. Most audio
signals should appropriately fill this section of the meter. The yellow section ranges
from -12dB to -3dB as the signal approaches a 'hotter' level. For best capture
resolution, recording in this area is both safe and advised. The red section of the
meter ranges from -3dB to 0dB. On the input level meters, a 0dB condition indicates
overload and audio clipping may occur. Therefore be careful to adjust the incoming
audio levels so that they do not peak in the red section too long (you might use the
monitoring capability of the Audiophile 2496 to let your ears be the judge). Please
note that the S/PDIF inputs are actually digital data and can not clip or distort the
Audiophile S/PDIF input in any manner – in other words, the "red zone" of the peak
meter is perfectly safe for digital inputs.
On all output level meters, 0dB indicates full-scale output. Unlike the inputs,
hardware clipping is impossible on the outputs because of the 36-bit resolution built
into the mixer hardware. However, please note that it is possible to mix multiple
tracks within your software application and cause clipping to occur in the output
stream before it reaches the Audiophile output hardware or monitor mixer.
MASTER VOLUME: At the left side of the Monitor Mixer page, you will see the
'Master Volume' faders and peak meters. These faders have the longest 'throw' and
highest meter resolution of any level controls in the mixer page. They control the
overall stereo level of the mixer output. The peak meters indicate the output signal
levels with respect to full-scale and are directly affected by the settings of the master
volume faders.
MIXER INPUTS: The 'Mixer Inputs' are inputs to the monitor mixer. These inputs
accept hardware audio streams (directly from the Audiophile's analog and digital
input ports) and software audio streams (digital audio generated in software to be
output). This combination of streams makes the monitor mixer extremely flexible.
Each mixer input channel has its own level fader and may be panned anywhere in
the left/right stereo field. Each input also has its own peak meter. The peak meters
indicate the incoming "pre-fader" levels of the incoming audio and are therefore not
affected by the fader settings. However, the input faders do affect the levels of the
signals exiting the mixer and you will see the effect of the input faders on the output
"Master Volume" peak meters.
From left to right, the inputs to the mixer are labeled "WavOut 1/2", "WavOut
S/PDIF", "H/W In S/PDIF" and "H/W In 1/2". The first two inputs accept the digital
audio streams being sent from your software application (or Windows) to the driver
devices with those same names. Each name begins with "WavOut" to remind you
that these are software streams and may not necessarily be routed to any physical
outputs (see Patchbay/Router Page). The rightmost two channels are audio streams
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