I know this may seem like a trivial question, but can anyone tell me why on loudness meters for studio equipment the dB meter starts at -64? Why doesn't go back into infinity and why wouldn't it start out at 0?

Thanks for any help for a simple question.

-Lester

practicality
how well can you even hear -64dB?

True. Is it because you can put gain on a signal that is carrying more than one input?

64dB just seems like such an arbitrary number and I was hoping to get some insight that I didn't have before.

don't worry about the small things in life
you'll go crazy

a VU measured a tangible element. They were standardized to a certain voltage. Because they were the first metering system, everything else is in relation to that. So your digital numbers are not arbitrary in any way. And your meter is in dBfs , not db. If you plan to use both digital and analog means, you need to understand the relationship between all these formats. Not really worth knowing if you never plan to leave your bedroom.

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quote:

Originally posted by jayxthekoolest practicality how well can you even hear -64dB?

-64 dB means nothing. It is a point of reference. 64 dB less than something. So technically, -64 dB could tear your dick off if your reference point is a nuclear bomb going off.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
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Amen, brother.

The reason the meters have a lower label of -64dbFS(!) is that to be technically correct, they had to put a value on the lowest threshold of of the meter while reflecting that it is a logarithmic scale. On a calibrated system, -64dbfs is actually below the human threshold of hearing, and as Richie points out, when aligned with the Vu sale, it is a nothing value in terms of electrical current.

To put it another way, -64db registers as nothing both in terms of a tangible electrical current or as a perceived sound.

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney -64 dB means nothing. It is a point of reference. 64 dB less than something. So technically, -64 dB could tear your dick off if your reference point is a nuclear bomb going off.

obviously relative to 0dB
not sure what else you thought i meant

which also means nothing as well. 10000 dB is just as loud as 1 dB which is 4 times as loud as - i dB. A dB is not real. it is equivalent to say calling ( whatever x 10 ) a monkey. I got 45 monkeys.It means nothing at all without a point of reference.

0 dB is not a value.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

From an old thread designed to clear this sort of thing up:

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN So in a recent thread there was a lot of discussion about mixing you track close (or not as seems to be the case) to 0db, and it struck me by the answers given that a lot of people completely misundertand the concept of 0db, and in fact "db" by itself in this respect is absolutely meaningless. We talk about differences in sound levels in decibels. So one sound can be 10 decibels louder than another. Or you can take a sound signal and make it 10 decibels quieter. Or you can leave your fader at 0 decibels and make absolutely no change at all. So that is the meaning of 0 dB - no change in level. You CANNOT say that a sound has a level of 100 dB. You cannot do that. When you see something like, "The noise coming from the freeway is 100 dB", that is absolutely meaningless and written by someone who has no knowledge of decibels. (They probably mean 100 dB SPL, but that's another topic.)

Full thread here:

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...92#.UR1AUqXFUms

quote:

Originally posted by Looney4Clooney which also means nothing as well. 10000 dB is just as loud as 1 dB which is 4 times as loud as - i dB. A dB is not real. it is equivalent to say calling ( whatever x 10 ) a monkey. I got 45 monkeys.It means nothing at all without a point of reference. 0 dB is not a value.

i understand perfectly what you're saying
but you are way over thinking it

i'm just sayin
that when you sit in front of your speakers
and play music
you set the loudness such that 0dB is the reference level
and in practical terms
-64dB will be essentially inaudible
so you shouldn't care if the meters go any lower

lol

reference level to what. You don't get it. I'm not over thinking it, you are under thinking it. your DAW meter means nothing in the real world unless you have worked out the reference between the output and the corresponding energy. Your DAW could be clipping and nooding around -1 dBFS but your speakers are off and it is inaudible.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest