Audio Level meters - why Bus is always lower in level?

Hi,

If I put a video clip in a new project and on a new timeline in the EDIT tab and then play the clip, the audio levels will bounce around for A1 but the BUS level (the final level of the timeline) is always at a lower level.

Why is this the case? Shouldn't the BUS level be exactly at the same level as A1?

Is the source Track mono and the destination Bus stereo?

The summation of two identical signals of equal amplitude and phase increases the level of the resulting signal, hence the attenuation on the stereo Bus 1 to produce equal power output and equal perceived loudness. This is the result of Pan Law, in this case “-3dB compensation” being applied.

Hi Reynaud, no they are both stereo. The video file I place on the timeline has a stereo audio track and the track is set to Stereo. The Bus is also a stereo output.

May I ask for you to try it on you computer and let me know if the levels are identical? If they are, then I may have a configuration wrongly set deep into my Davinci settings.

Stereo source feeding a stereo end point have identical levels.

Are you running 19.1.4 or 20 beta 4?

I am running 19.1.4
You?

I may have a configuration wrongly set

Seems most likely, David. Might be worth sharing your project file... maybe someone can spot the issue.

Have tested with both 19.1.4 and v20 and not reproducing.

Is this issue Project specific or across all Timelines? If specific, include a link to the Project file (.drp without media).

David, is this the sort of thing you are seeing? In this case the metering is set to pre-fader and there is a compressor on the track. With the meters in pre-fader mode (selectable in Project Settings/Fairlight) you will only see any Dynamics or EQ level changes in the Output Bus meters.

Meter Levels.jpg (156.81 KiB) Viewed 279 times

This is what I see with post fader metering and no FX on the track.

Track and Bus Meters.jpg (38.11 KiB) Viewed 279 times

Uncheck Pre fader metering on tracks?

Thanks everyone.

I will do extensive testing this weekend. The Pre-Fader option is off (not selected). And interestingly I noticed this evening that the Bus scaled was positioned lower than the A1 and A2 scales on the right side of the EDIT page.

I restarted Davinci and they were all on the same position vertically. I have not been able to replicate it yet... thus all the work I have planned this weekend.