Metering On D-Command

[notionsoundworks]

Hey Everyone,
I'm having some issues with the output metering on my D-Command. My issue is when I'm playing audio form an external source ie ableton or itunes through my apollo 16 connected to the main input on the xmon the meters see 0 as -6. As in if im playing a test tone out of ableton at 0dBfs the meters hit 0 in ableton and on the apollo but -6 on the d-command output meters. All of my equipment is running at +4dBu and im running the apollo directly into the xmon for testing purposes. I also have a denon dn-500av that feeds the atl input on the xmon via +4dBu Direct XLR to DB25 if I play that same test tone the metes hit -6 where as if they were matching up with everything else they should be hitting 0right? I have tested to ensure there isnt anything going on with the xmon cutting my level. The Level coming out of my apollo and the level coming out of the xmon when set to unity is exactly the same. I have done lots of testing to confirm this. Its just the visual level of the metes but at the end of the day I would like them to be accurate.


Please help. I fill like this is something really stupid I'm missing.
Thanks for your time.

[BScout]

You asked this same question on gearslutz and were given the answer.

dBFs is not the same as dB(C, A, U, etc). VU/analogue meters are not dBFS (which is a digital scale like in Ableton Live.) The XMon meters are analogue. If you want them to measure the same, you need to recalibrate the sources for overhead/dynamic range to match.

So I'd ask you two questions:
A) why does this matter for general sources?
B) do you know how to calibrate outputs? It involves signal at a set frequency and level and a multimeter. Pretty standard work for anyone who has worked with consoles/meters before. Your source needs to have the ability to adjust trim/gain though.

For instance, you can have a source be calibrated to 18 dB (standard for all Avid hardware) or 24 dB (for instance, one option on the SPL Madison). That's a 6dB difference before hitting clipping on the output of the DAC. In this case, clipping is digital before hitting conversion but the actual electrical output is dependent on the manufacturer. And that is the what the meters measure.

But you can align everything if you have the tools. But once again I refer you to (A) question above. As long as it doesn't clip, does it matter for reference material?

[notionsoundworks]

Thank you. I did not understand that the XMon meters are analogue. I do Know how to calibrate outputs. Ive done this before with the 192's and Avid I/O not sure hot to do this on the apollo 16 or if you can.

To answer you question to me I personally don't care but I work with a lot of EDM artist who use Ableton and the meters on the console constantly confuse them. So it would be nice to have everything match up for that sake.

Thank you for the quick reply!!
I really appreciate it!