Mixer Center Section; Meters - Sony SONOMA User Manual

3.5

Mixer Center Section

The Mixer Center section contains meters and controls which perform master and global operations
on the state of the mixer as a whole. It usually appears at the right of the screen (see Figure 3-2).
3.5.1

Meters

There are two types of meters: Audio Level meters, used for normal level monitoring, and Annex
Meters, which relate to the specifications and recommendations laid down in Annexes D and E of the
Scarlet Book Part 2 (Audio Signal Specification).
The audio level meters are a set of eight meters displaying the audio levels on the surround and stereo
channels of the selected bus, plus additional M and S component metering for stereo left and right.
The Annex meters are subdivided into 4 types labeled from left-to-right as DC, LF, MaxPeak, and
HF. These meters are calibrated to display an overload (red) if the signal has exceeded the Annex D/E
levels. A brief description of each mode:
DC: Measures the DC offset of the DSD signal. For SACD, the recommended maximum DC offset
level is -50dB SACD, although this is not mandatory.
LF: This displays a zoomed-in version of the main level meters around the 0dB SACD point. In a
previous version of the Scarlet Book Part 2, Annex E, there was a recommended maximum value for
the LF band, but this has been superseded by the MaxPeak specification and, consequently, the LF
band can be ignored.
MaxPeak: This displays the maximum peak level of the DSD signal. It is a requirement for an SACD
that the maximum specified level of 3.10 dB SACD is not exceeded. Failure to comply with this
specification will result in the master being rejected by the disc replicator.
HF: This displays the maximum RMS level of the DSD signal in the 40 kHz - 100 kHz band. It is a
requirement for an SACD that the maximum specified level of -20 dB SACD is not exceeded. Failure
to comply with this specification will result in the master being rejected by the disc replicator.
See Section 3.9, Sonoma Mixer Specifications
3.5.1.1 Meter Assign
The meters can be fed by one of five sets of signals. The labelling beneath the meters will change to
reflect the current assignment:
• Program out
• Record Return
• AUX send
• Short channel input (channels 9-16)
• Monitor Source mode (follows the Monitor Assign selector).
When monitor source mode is selected the meters show pre-monitor gain. When short channel input
is selected the meters show pre-short channel gain.
Note that mono and stereo levels are not metered when AUX send or short channel metering is
selected.
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for further details.
Chapter 3: Sonoma Mixer