FabFilter User Forum
Discrepancy in RMS levels between Pro-L and Cubase Pro 8
Hi there,
when mixing using K-scale metering (e.g. K-14) I am experiencing discrepancies in RMS levels of about 3db between Pro-L and my Cubase Pro 8 control room meter.
They seem to line up if I enable the AES17 button in the Cubase control room which adds an additional 3db to the metering.
Does this mean that Pro-L has implicitly enabled something like the AES17 functionality?
Thanks very much in advance for some advice since it's a little bit confusing to me which meter tells me the truth;-)
Best regards,
distinct
distinct — Feb 1, 2015
Hi district,
I'll take a closer look at this! I did indeed see a different with the Cubase 8 meter, but I see the same difference with other third party plug-ins that have K-metering (showing the same RMS levels as Pro-L). I'll investigate!
... after investigating a little bit more, the short answer to your question is: yes, enabling the AES17 button should match the RMS level of Pro-L (which RMS level is calibrated to a sine wave).
Floris, something related to this came up in a discussion with one of my colleagues the other day.
When I first began using Pro-L as my main limiter I noticed that the RMS value in the 16, 32, and 48 dB scales read lower than expected, while it read as expected in the K-12, K-14, and K-20 scales. Since I typically use K-12 (plus a host of other metering), I kind of just dismissed it.
However, the other evening a budding ME asked me why the RMS values in Ozone and Pro-L differed by 3-4 dB. I looked into it and sure enough the 16, 32, and 48 dB meter under-read by 3 dB (therefore note using the AES17 standard).
Why the discrepancy?
Thanks.
Sorry to bring this backup but it's happening to me, Pro-L shows around 4dB lower RMS levels than my DAW's metering(Ableton Live9.5)! I have tried other limiters and they all show the proper value except Pro-L!
Hi guys,
For its K-Metering scales, Pro-L implements the AES17 calibration; a sine wave at 0 dB peak level, will have an RMS level of 0 dB as well.
For the other scales, Pro-L doesn't implement the AES17 calibration and shows the 'true' RMS level, the actual average level over time.
Cheers,
Not using K-Metering system at the moment and I notice that the meter still shows around 4dB lower than other plugins/DAW metering...
Hi George,
As I explained, for the non-K metering scales (48 dB, 32 dB, 16 dB), Pro-L does not use the AES17 calibration, so when tested with a sine wave, it's level will indeed be 3 dB lower than meter that do use it.
If you test with a complex/rythmic signal, the RMS level may of course also differ due to the RMS window size...
Cheers,