Peak Meter

The Peak Meter is a metering instrument that combines a PPM meter and VU meter in one display. The thinner, outer bars show the Program Peak Meter (PPM Meter) and the thicker, inner bars display the VU meter, which you might be familiar with from analog equipment.

Both meter displays are based on standardized level meters with precisely defined display characteristics. The PPM meter displays the peaks of an audio signal, whereas the VU meter averages the metered values over a short metering time period.

Open the Peak Meter context menu by right-click and select from several presets for PPM and VU meter scales from the Peak Meter Presets submenu. The lower value of the value range for the peak level display results from the ranges option in the context menu of the level displays, the upper value is set depending on the selected preset.

Presets

The presets contain the common standards for PPM and VU display instruments, individually and in useful combinations.

NOTE In presets where only PPM is mentioned, the standard DIN PPM is meant, the standard VU display corresponds to the VU display VU-14.

Preset Contents
Standard Combination of PPM + VU-14 (equivalent to PPM + VU-14 Music)
Default (less contrast)

Combination of PPM + VU-14 (lower contrast display)

IEC Type I (DIN) PPM PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB, delay-free rise)
IEC Type I (DIN) PPM+VU

Outside: PPM with DIN scale

Interior: VU display
IEC Type I (DIN) PPM+VU (less contrast)

Outside: PPM with DIN scale

Interior: VU display (lower contrast display)
IEC Type I (DIN) QPPM 10 ms PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB, delayed rise 10 ms)
IEC Type I (DIN) QPPM 5 ms PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB, delayed rise 5 ms)
IEC Type I (Nordic) QPPM 5 ms PPM with Nordic scale (linear,-42...12dB, delayed rise 5 ms)
IEC Type IIa (British) PPM with BBC scale (linear, 1...7, delay-free increase)
IEC Type IIb (EBU) PPM with EBU scale (linear, -12...12dB) with delay-free rise
K-12 Broadcast K-meter with 0dB reference at -12dBFS, Linear scale in the range -60...12dB
K-14 Music K-meter with 0dB reference at -14dBFS, Linear scale in the range -60...14dB
K-20 Cinema K-meter with 0dB reference at -20dBFS, Linear scale in the range -60...20dB
PPM + K-12 Broadcast

Outside: PPM on K-meter scale

Inside: K-12 meter (see above)
PPM + K-14 Music

Outside: PPM on K-meter scale

Inside: K-14 meter (see above)
PPM + K-20 Cinema

Outside: PPM on K-meter scale

Inside: K-20 meter (see above)
PPM + VU-12 Broadcast

Outside: PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB) with delay-free rise

Indoor: VU meter with working range (yellow) -12...0dB
PPM + VU-14 Music

Outside: PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB) with delay-free rise

Inside: VU meter with working range (yellow) [-14; 0]

PPM + VU-14 Music (-9dB Ref)

Outdoor: PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB) with delay-free rise + 0dB reference at -9 dBFS

Indoor: VU meter with working range (yellow) -14...0dB
PPM + VU-14 Music FS

Outside: PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB) with delay-free rise and limitation to 0 dB (full scale)

Indoor: VU meter with working range (yellow) -14...0dB
PPM + VU-20 Cinema

Outside: PPM with DIN scale (non-linear, -70...9dB) with delay-free rise

Indoor: VU meter with working range (yellow) -20...0dB

K-MeteringClosed

The presets of the Peak Level Meter include presets for the K-Metering System. The corresponding presets are listed as PPM + "K-12 Broadcast", "K-14 Music" and "K-20 Cinema".

K-metering enables uniform reference volumes for different media especially when mastering under normalized listening conditions. The peak hold display continues to show signal peaks and can be used to avoid clipping.

The "K-system" refers to the metering system developed by Bob Katz, and it has become the standard for monitoring audio signals during mastering. K-System Metering enables uniform calibration and monitoring. You can use it to easily exchange audio material between different studios and have matching monitoring results. With K-System Metering it's not so much the loudness, but rather the musical dynamics that take center stage. Setting the level to 0 dB sets the reference volume which no longer matches the maximum level, as often used to be the case.

According to the program and audio material, three different meter scales can be used:

  • K-20 = 0dB reference (83dBSPL) at -20dBFS

    K-20 is recommended when using audio with large dynamics like classical music or film sound.

  • K-14 = 0dB reference (83dBSPL) at -14dBFS

    K-14 is especially recommended for rock and pop productions or for Surround Sound.

  • K-12 = 0dB reference (83dBSPL) at -12dBFS

    K-12 is especially recommended for radio and television networks.

The corresponding scale for setting up the monitoring volume is calibrated with pink noise. If you set pink noise to 0dB, you get a level of 83dB SPL, a volume reference that originated in the film world.