Audio Units (Bels, dB, dBu, dBV, dBFS, dBm, dBW, dB SPL, VU meter)

Wow, again another long video. I'll work on trying to make these shorter, but it's difficult deciding what to take out and what not.

Video Timeline
0:00 - Intro
2:13 - Logarithms (Derivation)
9:10 - Why We Perceive Sound Logarithmically
13:06 - Why We Plot EQ On A Logarithmic Scale
14:39 - Quick Discussion on Fletcher-Munson Curves
16:11 - Bels and Decibels (dB)
18:11 - dBu
19:29 - dBu and Understanding (Vpeak-to-peak, Vpeak, Vrms)
20:14 - dBV
20:37 - dBFS
22:33 - Quick Discussion on DAW dynamic range and Digital Clipping
23:32 - dBm and dBW
24:13 - Why say dB vs. a dBX value
24:56 - dB SPL
26:01 - VU Meter
29:00 - 0 VU = ??? dBFS = ??? dBu, dBV
31:05 - Closing Statements

Anyone looking to get tons of more information about audio engineering and getting the most out of your project studio or if you are working in a larger studio, this reference is a must.

Understanding Audio - Getting the Most Out of Your Project or Professional Recording Studio by Daniel M. Thompson

Again, please like and subscribe, and comment on anything you would like to see for future content.

Rule 1 of Artist Forum - Never apologize for your art
Rule 2 of Artist Forum - Never apologize for your art
and
Rule 3 of Artist Forum - Never stop creating. Work on something everyday even if for just a few minutes.

Best wishes in your development,

Ty

[breernancy]

👋Excellent!! Figured out most of it but this really set the historical and operational context. I had to make sense of the various units (Volts/dBu/dBFS) to calculate amplifier limiter settings on a processor. Thanks!!

[JAROCHELOcesarcastro]

Thank you for explaining all in one video. I’m still processing but I can recall and stop this video as needed

[mex]

There are 100s of videos out there explaining this. Out of all of those, this one is the one that explains it the right way. Simple and with actually real world examples, not just perfect world examples. This made everything click. Thanks!

[callanoconnor]

Hey man!! I really appreciate you putting this video together. Of all the explanation videos i've watched on this topic, this is the most helpful. Keep em coming! Love the depth of information and the clarity of explanation.

[GauravAggarwal]

This is so well explained!!! You have a gift for teaching, keep putting out more of these videos

[TheManInCommand]

Comprehensive! Answered a lot of My questions in relation to this topic. Thank you!

[ChedCuaresma]

Thank you for taking the time to talk about this topic. I realize the importance of gain staging and this helped me go between different audio (db) units.

[eliasbagley]

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for when I se out to research this topic. Subscribed. I think the length and technical depth was perfect. I have a technical background, so I was really looking for the actual details of how these all worked together, rather than the high level gloss over I saw when reading on a couple blogs. I'd love to see more of this technical depth on more music and audio related topics.

[wanoumars]

Very extensive and clear, thank you very much for this excellent content!

[CyrilleBoucanogh]

Great! Great! Great! Thank you so much!

[RianDenver]

This video helped me a lot! Thank you very much :)

[originalvonster]

Thank you for the detailed information. When calibrating a VU meter from a digital console how do you know how many volts the signal you are sending is without a volt meter?

[caseygoldstein]

Thank you for the video. Extremely helpful.

[starrydi]

Excellent! I’m saving this for reference!

[EdThorne]

Thank you for a very informative video. The VU meter in relation to dBFS in DAWs is particularly useful information. I reckon this single video could be turned into a 10 part (potentially paid) course for beginners, simplifying each subject a little (I felt some assumptions of knowledge were made). On a side note, I found the audio gate distracting.

[artvandelay]

Hi I really enjoyed and understood your explanation, please make one on 32bit floating points etc

[the_newvoice]

My Behringer shows -5dB peak, and RTA and improvised VU, at the same time, seems shows around -12... At the back is +10dBu and +22dBu switck for mic too. So many things to understand.

[Andy-lmzp]

What the hell is base 3? and how did that table have the numbers you needed, you would have to have every number in there surely

[noahpalwayuwana]

i need a help for answer my duty can you help me ?

[FrissOderLassEs]

> I'll work on trying to make these shorter, but it's difficult deciding what to take out and what not.
Well, you could stop repeating the same empty phrases...