14  Analogue Sound Mixing Equipment

Levels and Dynamic Range

1.  Low level signals. These are generally accepted as the levels from microphones working under average conditions. This may be between – 70 dBu (where the unit dBu takes as reference ‘zero level’ or 0.775 V) to around – 50 dBu.

2.  High level or ‘line level’ signals. Signals in the range from about – 15 dBu to + 20 dBu. The terms ‘low level’ and ‘high level’ are not intended to be precisely defined.

3.  Dynamic range. The range in dB between the lowest and the highest programme levels. The lowest acoustic level likely to be encountered is about 20 dBA; the highest can be 110 dBA or may be more. The acoustic dynamic range is thus 90+ dB.

Digital recording systems such as compact discs ...

Get Sound Engineer's Pocket Book, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.