But what VU meters do very well is provide an indication of apparent loudness and monitor mixed program material. With the boom in surround sound production has come a number of recommendations and standards from professional organizations regarding monitor reference levels in the studio for specific applications. In film mixing, for example, it is recommended that program material should be monitored at the exact same level at which it will be reproduced. Without good meters it can be very difficult to calibrate and align the studio equipment and set an accurate, repeatable reference level for recording and monitoring. But good VU meter displays can be hard to find.
Mechanical meters take up a lot of space.
As mixing consoles and recorders have steadily increased in input capacity and shrunk in overall size many manufacturers have chosen to fit bargraph meters instead of VU meters. If VU meters are fitted in addition to bargraphs they can often be tiny or limited to a stereo pair. The topic of listening levels as they relate to multichannel monitoring is also examined in our free Report, A VU To Downmixing. Request your free copy. Inc. All Rights Reserved.