[ardour-dev] playback levels

[Bill Gribble]

On Wed, 2004-02-25 at 10:01, Florian Schmidt wrote:
> also i think that a stereo file even with enabled panner should be at no
> less volume than with disabled panner..  I am aware of the fact that the
> volume change is done to compensate the volume raise which happens when
> panning [on one channel], probably to avoid clipping. 

In my experience the purpose of the panning gain curve is to provide for
perceptual "sameness" of volume throughout the panning range when
putting a mono input on a multichannel bus.  Visualize a full-range mono
signal panned left, then center, then right.  With no gain adjustment,
the total signal has twice the amplitude when panned center as it does
when panned hard right or left (that's a 6dB boost).  That's just wrong
as far as I'm concerned, and the panner SHOULD adjust the gain to keep
the volume of the signal consistent across the pan range.

It's not so clear with multichannel inputs, though.  "panning" doesn't
mean the same thing when number of inputs is as large as number of
outputs; it's more like a "mix" operation than a pan (you're trimming
either right or left while leaving the other alone,  rather than
"positioning" a mono signal).  I would think that the default with
multiple inputs should be not to apply the panning gain curve.  That is
more in line with what real knobby mixers do, I believe.

b.g.