124 wrote:

"As anyone who has ever made a recording knows, the ideal is to adjust
the level so that the peaks are as high as possible without going 'into
the red.' This will be high enough to minimize noise, but not so high
as to cause distortion."

http://www.soundstageav.com/mastersonaudio.html

Ruud, you are wrong. Baaad advice, slick. :-)

--124

Are you guys talking cassette? Cuz in IME with cassette recording
and using dolby b or c, and a good peak reading meter, the best
results come with peaks about +2db... I'm sure this adds some
distortion but I don't find it noticeable and really helps the S/N
ratio which I find to be the most troubling issue with cassette.
When I added Dbx noise reduction to my setup... I found I could record
with peaks just at O or slightly below and still have very good low
noise.. no noticeable hiss.

When I had a reel to reel (with dolby B) ... S/N wasn't such an issue
and I found no reason to push the levels even at a measly 3 3/4 IPS
tape speed.

ScottW