AES Show 2024 NY

The nominal audio level is where developers of professional analog equipment design their units to have an optimal performance. Audio levels above the nominal level will at some point lead to increased harmonic distortion and eventually clipping. DSP plugins emulating such nonlinear behavior must – in the same manner as analog equipment – align to a nominal level that is simulated within the digital environment. A listening test was tailored to investigate if, or to which extent, misalignments in the audio levels compared to the simulated nominal level in analog-modelled DSP plugins are audible, thus affecting the outcome, depending on which level you choose to record at. The results of this study indicate that harmonic distortion in analog-modeled DSP plugins may become audible as the recording level increases. However, for the plugins included in this study, the immediate consequence of the harmonics added is not critical and, in most cases, not noticed by the listener.