"Robert Morein" wrote in message


You want the sound as it exists on your SoundForge timeline to
approach the 0 dB line as closely as possible, without exceeding it.

This is one of the great myths of audio production, that you need to get
peak levels as high as possible while tracking. It might be more responsible
for crappy sound than any of the other myths of audio production. During
tracking it is a good thing to leave adequate headroom above peaks, and by
adequate I mean 6 to 10 dB.

Some programs all converting to a 24 bit representation before
applying algorithms.

Ideally, one captures music (tracks) in 24 or 32 bit mode. Just about every
modern sound card that's designed for audio production has 24 bit
capabilities. In many cases they are even actually capable of capturing
music with more than 16 bits of resolution. This so greatly exceeds the
resolution of any real-world analog source (which includes microphones and
rooms) that there is no need to maximize peak levels to get adequate
resolution during tracking. The high resolution that is captured should be
preserved during almost the entire production process.

After the processing is done, one then converts
back to a 16 bit representation.

Agreed. Dither down to 16 bits right before burning the final CD for
distribution.

However, since you are within 0.5 dB of the maximum level, you're
really as far up as you can go in the digital domain.

Nope, you can go right up to FS, or FS -0.1 dB in the digital domain. If you
have production tools that work with floating point arithmetic (e.g. Adobe
Audition running in 32 bit mode), you can go past the indicated maximum
levels without clipping. It's just that while capturing and producing,
having peaks that are very close to indicated maximum levels is potentially
dangerous, not to mention being messy to work with.

I don't see how
your problem could be attributed to the cartridge and preamp. How are
you playing these files back? It could be a problem with the output
level of your sound card.

Consumer sound cards typically produce 1 volt per the AC97 standard, or 2
volts for some SoundBlaster retail products. Sound cards designed for audio
production produce something like 6 or more volts. In comparison, a typical
CD player produces 2 or 2.5 volts while most power amps deliver full power
with inputs in the range of 1.25 to 2.5 volts. Most consumer receivers and
integrated amplifiers can deliver full output with inputs in the range of
0.100 to 0.250 volts.

In short, there's no reason why a sound card should cause low levels. It's
just a matter of matching the right kind of output with the right kind of
input.