
DartDisk User Guide
9
Like a VU meter, the display is oriented towards headroom, the parameter of greatest
concern to the recording engineer. Headroom is the dB difference between peak signal level
and the overload level of the A/D converter. Overload level is the converter's maximum
positive code, e.g., +2047 and +32767 for 12-bit and 16-bit converters, respectively. When
headroom decreases to 0, the input signal will be distorted in the A/D.
Headroom is also reported numerically. The operator can monitor display color for an
overview of headroom status and can use the numerical readout to adjust system gain
precisely, so as to maximize the signal-to-noise of the recorded signal without risking
overload distortion.
Display Refresh
During recording, the program updates the entire display every 100 msec, reporting the
worst-case headroom during that interval. Refresh interval represents a tradeoff between a
more responsive meter and system loading at very high sample rates. It may be user-
configurable in a future version.
Meter Color Display
The headroom bar changes color dynamically to indicate headroom status, as illustrated in
the figures:
• Green = sufficient headroom: headroom > 6 dB
• Yellow = low headroom: headroom < 6 dB but > 0
• Red = overload: headroom = 0
Here is the meter during recording with sufficient headroom represented by a green bar:
Here is the meter after recording with low headroom represented by a yellow bar:
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