Posted by Richard Crowley on 03/24/06 19:51

"Rick Merrill" wrote ...
>I have heard that consumer audio targets 1.17 v while
> professional audio systems target 1.00 v - any truth to this?

You've got it kinda backwards. Consumer audio line levels
are typically "-10dB" while professional equipment typically
uses "+4dB" as the reference. How these dB values translate
into voltages is also not a straightforward as we would like.

> If so, what are the consequenses of mixing equipment, especially in the
> digital domain.

People generally interconnect consumer-level and pro-level
audio equipment all the time with few problems. It is NOT a
no-brainer, you need some small amount of intelligence to
get it to work properly, but generally not a big deal.

It makes no significant difference whether you are dealing with
digital or analog audio equipment. The major difference is how
peak levels are referenced/measured/setup. But that is an
operational difference, not an equipment difference.

You can see information about consumer vs. professional
line levels in places like the rec.audio.pro FAQ (online at
http://www.recaudiopro.net/faq/index.htm) and on Tomi's
excellent website www.epanorama.net

If you have specific issues with specific combinations of
equipment, ask here (or on the audio newsgroups:
news:rec.audio.pro and news:rec.audio.tech

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