Line levels: -10dBV vs. +4 dBu
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  1. #1
    Tech Guru Fatlimey's Avatar
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    Default Line levels: -10dBV vs. +4 dBu

    Anyone getting confused about mixing "consumer" audio signals with "professional" audio signals? The mish-mash of consumer and pro equipment in the Digital DJ world is just a mess, so getting some clarity on the problem is something that I think DJTT can help out with.

    In a shortened handwavy summary (and there's a lot of confusing math behind the issue), there are two main systems for converting sound into voltages - see the Wikipedia article on Line Levels. Let's call them "Pro" and "Consumer".

    The Pro gear outputs an additional 1.22v per unit of loudness (dB) while the Consumer devices output 0.316v per unit of loudness. This is why, when you plug Consumer gear into a Pro device it sounds too quiet, and why plugging Pro audio into a consumer amplification path makes things sound nice and loud, with maybe a touch of distortion.

    Understanding which device outputs which kind of voltage level will help people make good decisions in buying equipment to pair up, so I think explicitly stating in a review which type of audio the device uses would be useful to the entire community.

    Well, that's the manifesto. I know the real issues of dBu, nominal levels and RMS vs. signal peaks are more complicated than that but we need to start somewhere. How would you introduce the problem to a noob? "Your output sounds plenty loud, but maybe a little distorted. Let's take a look at your signal path..." Any audio engineers out there?

  2. #2
    Dr. Bento BentoSan's Avatar
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    Default

    Been wondering how many db you gotta turn down a studio gear to match consumer gear - if u can answer that u would be a legend !

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