Audacity Forum

Does It matter too much if the recording level metre occaisionally goes into the 'Red' when I record an LP - once per album track or even less (ie. 2-3 times per side of an LP).

I have spent a lot of time re-recording my LPs because the recording has shown up in the red part of the level metre eventhough it has been the odd note which was too loud.

The Input level from my stereo into my PC is already ONLY at about '1.5 - 2' before it goes into the red generally anyway! - Should I turn it down to one?

Are we talking about the same program? Audacity recording meters (the red ones) are digital peak meters. They go from -50 or so on the left to digital zero on the right which is the first place the system distorts. Anything below zero is fair game.

If you do manage to hit zero, you have permanently damaged that part of the track. In that case, then yes, you should start over if you care about distortion. My personal preference is audio peaks in the -3 to -6 range.

Koz

ngc is talking about the position of the input volume slider in Audacity, but Koz, you're talking about the dB level of the audio peak.

ngc, turning that down to 1 and setting Audacity to record at 32-bits (Edit -> Preferences -> Quality -> Default Sample Format) is a good idea. At that high a bit depth, you won't lost any quality if you have to boost the signal after it's recorded.