0dBFS? (SF 4.5)

[mark4man]

What exactly is the voltage representation for Full Scale in Sound Forge 4.5?

I routinely mixdown several audio tracks (in Cakewalk Pro Audio 9) to .wav format. When I open those .wav files in Sound Forge 4.5, peaks are sawed off at several points in the song...yet there is no clipping! Without altering the file, I can convert to RealAudio or .mp3; & upload to my site; or burn the .wav to CD. In every case, the file conversions & audio CD's have never clipped (as in "audible" clipping.) Is there some sort of auto setting I have missed? Is there a generous amount of headroom built in? Is "0" purposely scaled back?

Thanks in advance.

mark4man

[This message has been edited by mark4man (edited 11-11-2002).]

[sonicpch]

There is no "voltage" representation. "voltage" is converted to bits. What ever your A/D converters are rated for will dertiming how the "analog" voltage is converted into bits - that is sampled. More bits don't give you a higher 0 dbs, but just more dynamic range between 0 db and silence.

There is no "headroom" in the digital world. If you want head room you must mix below 0 dB digitally.

If you clip, you will get hard clips in the audio file you render as you described. No matter how you convert this clipped master, you will not get it to clip unless the conversion adds gain somewhere.

Basically, mix in Cakewalk such that you never clip. A basic limiter on your output will accomplish this. You can also use one of those "tube" or "tape" simulators to emulate analog headroom/warmth (basically just a mechanism to smooth out the transients in a particular way.)

Peter

[mark4man]

Pete,

I appreciate your response, but I think you misunderstood my question. I know what headroom & bit depth are in the digital audio realm. I also know that everything above zero is largely considered clipping.

What I want to know is, with large portions of the waveform representation sawed off (above zero) in Sound Forge, why is there no audible clipping? Those segments of the file sound loud, sure enough...but there is no distortion, no scratchy sound (or any of the other artifacts associated with digital clipping.) You can't hear any clipping (& I know it's not my ears.)

Thanks.

mark4man

[This message has been edited by mark4man (edited 11-16-2002).]

[This message has been edited by mark4man (edited 11-16-2002).]

[macouno]

So ok... it's definitely not clipping, cause you'd hear that instantly. Where do you get these files from? have they at any point in time gone through a limiter or compressor? That's really the only possible explanation.

The "sawed off" effect must take place in cakewalk. Soundforge does not alter the file when you open it. Thus it must have happened before.

[mark4man]

Macouno,

The files are from a Cakewalk function entitled "Mixdown Audio - Export to .Wav." The only degree of gain control, aside from adjusting individual tracks, is of course the output buss, which is normally set to 0dBFS. When I begin to reduce the output by 1 or 2 dB's, the resulting .wav file does have less peaks that are sawed off, but the overall volume seems to be weak.

mark4man