Pinot User Manual
11
SETTING RECORDING LEVELS
Assuming you have prepared your system as outlined before you are now ready to calibrate your audio
levels. For this you will need an analog source with a test tone. Tapes and vinyl discs with calibration test
tones are readily available. You can also use your computer to play a digital file with a test tone into your DAC
and connects its analog outputs directly to the analog inputs of the Pinot.
A digital file with a full scale 1kHz sine wave is available for download from our website
(www.playback.designs).
The idea is that you set this level once for each analog source and then don't have to touch it again. Having
said that, it is important that you allow just enough headroom so you can record a variety of sources without
having to set levels every time.
You will wonder why there isn't a single level knob for both channels like on some other converters. The
answer is quite simple: the Pinot was designed to give you the absolute best performance that can be
achieved with today's technology. With a single adjustment knob you could never compensate for subtle
differences between channels caused by variations in electronic components and temperatures. With due
diligence you will achieve recordings with the Pinot that cannot be matched in quality by any other ADC.
There are several methods to calibrate the Pinot, we will describe two:
Setting the level with your music directly
This is the preferred method as it yields the best setting for optimal performance.
1. play your analog source music into the Pinot and adjust the level for 1 channel only. Set it so that the
loudest passage of your music is around -6dbFS to -3dbFS (half of the amber range on the level
meter). ). Each amber LED corresponds to 0.5dbFS, in other words there are 12 amber LED's.
This will give you enough headroom in case there is a higher peak somewhere else in your music and
also allows the A/D converter to operate at its optimal performance.
2. Stop your analog source and play a stereo test tone into Pinot.
3. Adjust the other channel so that both channels are set exactly the same. Make sure to not touch the
knob for the channel you already adjusted above.
4. You are now ready to record.
Setting the level with a test tone
1. Play your source with the test tone (tape, vinyl or digital file via DAC) into the Pinot.
2. Adjust the levels for both channels to the exact same amount. It isn't directly intuitive as to what level
on the meters you should set this to. You may have to try several settings and then monitor with your
music while making sure the peaks are around -6dbFS to -3dbFS. ). Each amber LED corresponds to
0.5dbFS, in other words there are 12 amber LED's.
3. You are now ready for recording.
