Recording Levels from Behringer UMC404HD

[Terne]

Hello,

I am a new VinylStudio user and a new Behringer UMC404HD user on OS X Mojave.

I hope I understand recording levels correctly. The signal from the UMC404HD shows on VS's recording meter as quite low, showing about level 15 to 20 peaks on its scale. On its meter, something seems to cap the display at 50.

I turned up the input levels on the UMC404HD so its clipping indicators were on more than I liked. I could hear the clipping in the playback.

I understand VS's meter display may be updated slowly to save processing and it probably just reports what the UMC404HD tells it.

It seems like I should not worry about the low recording level display and there is nothing I can do about it anyway. What comes out of the UMC404HD has fixed gain and if I need to increase levels before making mp3 files I should do that in Audacity or other editing software, and just make sure nothing clips the signal. In short, not be too concerned about the signals displaying low at record time?

Do I have this right?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

The signal level reported by VinylStudio should be accurate.  It samples every 100-ms and reports the peak level measured during the sample period.

If you are running on Windows, make sure you click the 'Set digital gain to 1' button in VinylStudio's Check Level dialog.  Reported values will not be correct until you do so.

[Terne]

Thanks for your help. I run Mac OS X (Mojave).

I am still having some trouble getting levels right. I set the Behringer so it does not clip. I record the album. I leave the Split Tracks tab. I go to the Cleanup Audio Tab. I find the "Set Filter Settings" icon. I get to the equalizer. I go to Normalize. I set it to 0db. I normalize. I go back to Split Tracks. I Save Tracks.

I listen to mp3s on Swinson. The mp3s VinylStudio create are still quieter than my mp3s from CDs I ripped in iTunes.

Is there any way to improve my workflow and get my levels more comparable?

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

Commercial CDs are often compressed, which makes them sound louder.  We have resisted putting compression into VinylStudio because most vinyl enthusiasts prefer not to use it.

[Terne]

Hi,

The Behringer UMC404HD A to D converter seems to output at levels lower than people expect. I see this stated may places on the Web. From a practical standpoint, it does not seem to matter much. I did a little experimenting and (case 1) beating red clip warnings on the Behringer recorded at 95 level in VS did not sound noticeably different than (case 2) no red clip warnings recorded at 91 level in VS.

The recorded waveform display looked much more proper in Case 2, but by the time I made MP3s of both and adjusted playback volume to the same level, I could not hear any difference.