Recent owner of the SC Live 4 I take an immense pleasure in using it, both at home and in the small clubs of Paris
Nonetheless, I have a few questions regarding the peak meter and how it should be used.
As can be seen on the level knobs of each track and on the main volume knob, there is an empty circle that, I believe, shows the position at which the knobs should be turned to limit the overall volume at 0db.
The thing is that in these positions, most tracks go to +3db on the peak meter and sometimes reach the red light.
I could not find any information about it either here or in the manual so here are my questions:
Am I right in believing these positions indicate the 0db limit on my tracks and master volumes?
What should I do to keep track of my peak meter when the venue does not allow me to change the speakers volume directly and that I have to decrease the main volume on the SC Live 4 (which prevents the peak meter from showing when I’m redlining)?
Does the SC Live 4 include a compressor which would, in my understanding, not do its proper job when the volume knobs are not positioned correctly?
Thanks in advance everyone, and good job to the team at Denon. Great build, great software and those updates you push are the best!
I use a Prime 2… for the channels i try and have the level meters running up to the equivalent of zero DB (the first white light in this case), this means the trim may be at various different positions depending on the tracks output level. I also use my headphones to listen to the level in case it needs tweaking as this is more accurate than the level meters in general.
As far as the overall master output goes, i dont try and aim for any DB level, i just raise the output until the sound is good, i also walk around the venue to ensure the sound is correct… often this means my master is at around 10 o’clock.
“Am I right in believing these positions indicate the 0db limit on my tracks and master volumes?”
No. This depends on the tracks themselves. If they peak at a lower level, the gain should be opened more to reach the same peak level compared to a track with higher peak levels.
Peak levels however say virtually nothing about loudness, and this is very important to be aware of. A really dynamic (not loud) mastered track can have peaks at the same level compared to a really squashed track, but the latter one will sound way louder.
In fact, in some cases the meters will actually rise if you cut an eq band (this mostly occurs with the low eq and in iso mode). Technically, this behavior is perfectly explainable because phase changes that occur when eq’ing can introduce new peaks. But when using the meters as a loudness guidance, this is of course very contra intuitive.
My advice would be to mostly ignore the meters and level match tracks by ear. Just make sure the signal isn’t clipping because that will most likely be unwanted. If you keep the meters out of the ‘peak’ led (the most above led from the meters) you shouldn’t experience any clipping when recording internally. If the SC Live’s outputs are connected to other gear, like a PA mixer or something, make sure it isn’t clipping too if you drive the SC Live’s levels as high as you want at most.
“What should I do to keep track of my peak meter when the venue does not allow me to change the speakers volume directly and that I have to decrease the main volume on the SC Live 4 (which prevents the peak meter from showing when I’m redlining)?”
I’d say make sure to test everything on forehand together with a technician of the venue. Especially make sure that the less loudest track doesn’t clip if you turn up the gain to compensate. If you follow that, you should always be fine.
“Does the SC Live 4 include a compressor which would, in my understanding, not do its proper job when the volume knobs are not positioned correctly?”
I think the SC Live 4 has a limiter, just like the Prime 4 I have has (a limiter is basically a compressor with an infinite ratio). To be honest I never have it enabled because it doesn’t sound that great. With only the slightest peak reduction, ugly audible pumping artifacts will already be introduced. The best option would be to just apply the correct gain staging. This assures a fully transparent sound, whereas the limiter will always color your sound.
I understand the difference between loudness and peak levels and I had never intended to use the peak meter as my only measure of loudness. Whenever possible, I do all the checks I can but sometimes it’s not a possibility, sometimes I don’t even know which tracks I’m going to play and the overall booth setup makes it difficult to really know what’s going on.
Anyway, I like to have a few meters around in addition to my own set of biological meters and I’m used to Traktor allowing me to monitor my master independently of the actual level of the output and instantly know if I’m hitting the compressor or not.
But in the case the SC Live 4 does not have a compressor then I guess it doesn’t really matter. But nowhere in the documentation it says whether one is builtin and neither if even a limiter is present!
I would really love if someone could explain to me just how this part of the mixer was made, what it is made of and how it was made to be used.
As far as im aware, all the Prime devices have some kind of limiter built in to the Master Out, doing its thing in the background.
Perhaps if this level of control is upmost importance to you, consider having a sub mixer bridging the gap between your device and the house system.
Personally after 2 decades of DJ gigs, ive never really found it necessary to fuss around with sound this much, i set the channel to a reasonable level then bring the master out up and listen to the system to hear its at a reasonable level. Ive also never been in a situation where any piece of DJ gear im using has to be pushed anywhere near its limits to achieve a good sound, both at home or at venues.
