On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 05:50:33PM -0700, Tom Watson wrote:
I find all of this an interesting discussion, and it looks like:
- People want to hear some output.
- "Pro" people don't want to blow up speakers.
Yes. I'd add to number 2: "pro" people don't want to hear any output until they set the relevant control to give output.
It seems that all of us have differing ideas on "what to expect" when it comes to audio interfaces. Twenty years ago, these problems really didn't exist, since computer audio was in its infancy, but now audio is everywhere, and it muct be accounted for. Alsa's implementation of having audio MUTED on initialization (startup) is a good one, and many distributions have init scripts that take over from there, restoring old values. While not ideal (just set the audio to where I want it!), it is about the best we can do.
Doing it any other way would in fact render "pro" hardware unusable.
The "pro" guy who doesn't want to blow up his speakers, I can only offer a suggestion. What do you do when plugging in and out "normal" audio equipment. Most of the time I turn down the level control since my big fat fingers will end up touching the tip/ring of the audio connector and LOTS of hum results. If you don't do this, you may have a PEBKAC problem which I (or any other developer) can solve.
If a software mixer starts up unmuted it's too late. With hardware you have the option of pressing a mute button or turning down a gain control before turning power on. A software mixer needs to be running before you can alter the default values.
I think we are all chasing a problem that really doesn't exist.
As for dB, some people refer to 0dB as "full scale". Some refer to it as 0 VU. Some make it out to be 1-v p-p. Go figure. The biggest problem is that crazy people think "louder" is better. It isn't!
The main misunderstanding appears to be the fact that dB settings in a mixer refer to gain, not level.
John