Music Meters, Displays & Analysers - More VUs

[@jonasthemovie]

That Dorrough made me quite nostalgic. Had one front and center when I was doing local radio back in the late 90s. It was measuring the direct line to the transmission tower.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

There's something very reassuring about a VU meter. Especially one with analogue needles.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

@@shessometimesdoublechocola5410 Fun, indeed, but I'm probably gonna buy the tower meter. That looked epic, and of literally no practical use.

[@freednighthawk]

#4 is something I wish all KZbinrs would purchase. The amount of times I get a video where the intro music is set WAAAAAAAAAAY to high, and the KZbinrs voice is set almost inaudibly low, is just crazy.

[@shroomie108]

I think thats due to two reasons. 1. They have no clue how to properly mix audio, and 2. The difference in speaker quality. Headphones vs a cell phone speaker vs regular speakers. A youtuber might have a 3 way speaker that it might sound ok for them, but out of headpones or a cell phone speaker it sounds horrible. I am sure it is more of number 1 but it could be number 2. But im not an audio expert so i could be wrong

[@dashcamandy2242]

TL:DR - Most likely a lack of knowledge of the tools available in most editing software, or not using the _right_ tools, and maybe a little bit of laziness or "editing fatigue." LONG-WINDED VERSION - I think most channels have into/outro sequences that have been "normalized" (volume of entire clip is increased so the highest peak is at 0.0 dB). There's a possibility creators have "normalized" their speech tracks, but a hard "p" sound or some background noise (something thumping on the tabletop or whatever) could be the audio peak for that clip and sets that one sound as the 0.0 dB point. That's the drawback (in my experience) to simple "normalization." If there are no sharp sounds, just low overall volume, normalization works quite well... A better solution is to use an audio level compression filter. Good audio levels can be a challenge, I still struggle with it at times on my channel. My editing software (Vegas Pro 13 if anyone was wondering) has a fairly responsive on-screen VU, and I imagine most editing suites (Premiere, Kdenlive, etc.) have this VU meter function and presumably have some sort of audio level compression as they're fairly basic and important features. Audio compression is a bit fiddly to set it just right, and to be absolutely certain you've set it fairly well, you have to watch the VU for entire clip you're applying the effect to. If you've been watching the same clip over and over as you apply video effects, you tend to be less enthusiastic about repeating the same clip repeatedly to tweak the audio. (I was going to rephrase that last sentence so I wasn't repeating the word repeat repeatedly, but not only was it helping me repeat my repeated point, it enabled me to write this sentence where I am repeating repeat repeatedly...)

[@FiXato]

in an ideal world, KZbin would allow for videos with multiple audio tracks recorded, and allow for user-defined mixing of them. Imagine being able to tweak the audio levels of the voice over, background music and even sound effects yourself, especially with Let's Plays.

[@freednighthawk]

@@dashcamandy2242 that's exactly what it is. Although there's also a little bit of dynamic range ignorance as well. A song with some decent bass is just going to sound louder when normalized than someone just speaking. I'm a pro audio tech for corporate and conventions (as well as a film grip and electric) and I always have to pull audio tracks back a bit to match them to presenters.

[@userk2876]

I hate that,too! Dont they watch their video to ensure everything is ok?

[@beverpix]

Thank you very much for another great video. In times of everybody fighting with words, watching your vids is calming, reassuring and comforting. Your content is full of intelligence, great knowledge/research and hidden fun. Thank you for being human.

[@sesa1076]

I really cant get enough of the VU meter videos. In case you were ever thinking "Are they sick of these."

[@JD_Viddy]

The name Michael Dorrough brought back some ancient memories. Back in the mid-70's (during my misspent youth) I was working at a small FM radio station in Southern California. The station owner knew Michael and convinced him to provide the station with his new multi-band compressor for testing. I only met Michael once during equipment installation and the many drinks that followed later that day.

[@joeambly6807]

Thats awesome

[@PhilipLeitch]

Always a pleasure to see a Techmoan video

[@CoolAsFreya]

The fact that the designers of the dorrough loudness monitor made the leds in a curve rather than just a straight line makes it look so much prettier I love just watching it

[@joeaverage3444]

Always well worth coming back to, this channel. I like the old school appeal of analog VU meters the most. Do a new puppet sketch soon!

[@asdfssdfghgdfy5940]

I'd just like to throw out a thankyou for the warning about the flashing images, I've got epilepsy which is luckily not too photosensitive. It's great to have the warning though, way more you tubers need to do this.

[@konstantinIII]

Is no one going to commend this youtuber for being such god tier that he puts his ads at the end of the video lol

[@RockRedGenesis]

Techmoan and Technology Connection release a video each within an hour or two of each other! It's a retro perfect storm!

[@DEMENTO01]

ikr

[@FiXato]

Add LGR and you got a hurricane ;)

[@pd1jdw630]

Liked that “ how its Made “ outro. Thanks for sharing.

[@duggerd]

Dates are commonly expressed in weeks-year on electronic components/assemblies, so 46-97 would be the 46th week (Nov 10 - Nov 16) of 1997.

[@Algabatz]

Every time i watch your videos they leave me with a desire to purchase something!

[@DJMikeBrady]

Connection to last week's video: We used the Dorrough meters in our studios at AEI Music!

[@6581punk]

People might turn their noses up at buying something a person has hand built and with no brand name to associate with it, but they're made much better. Everything is serviceable, replaceable.

[@HiFiBrothers]

I'm glad to see people still finding it passion for making VU meters. Always felt like it was the best part of HiFi equipment.

[@lesrogers7310]

Oh noooo.....now you've gone and done it. I was already addicted to VU meters and then you went and made this video!

[@pmgodfrey]

I have two Dorrough 40-A meters and love them. Calibration is fairly easy and their support is phenomenal. If you're looking for replacement lights for the meter's front illumination, they're called [grain of rice] lamps. I think they're 6 volts??? Measure the voltage first before popping new ones in.

[@willlindauer544]

Another entertaining, high-quality video. As for the lack of puppets, although I’m always delighted when they pop up, I believe they are better for only appearing when the inspiration strikes you.

[@lucysam953]

Just the sort of video I've been waiting for from Techmoan! Thanks!

[@alphawoolf5981]

"Peel it slower..." lol. Yes let's get a little ASMR going in our Techmoan videos.

[@PerHedetun]

"ENJOY THE TINGLY SENSATION!!"

[@clarkkent6026]

more important than peel it slower is "discharge yourself after peeling covers" because they generate A LOT of ESD which could damage your exposed circuitry (a proper desktop for handling this would be an ESD mat properly grounded along with a wrist strap attached to your hand/ankle

[@broderfoder9348]

There is an option of replaying at a slow speed...

[@Ravaxr]

Put the moan back into Techmoan.

[@dafoex]

I thought it was the That Peelin' Feelin' crowd more than the ASMR people. The problem with ASMR for me is I can't not laugh at it, now. Of all things I found a furry doing it in fursuit, and he was doing pretty well, but the whole thing was him whispering something like "and I know a few people that like this sound: tsk tsk tsk tsk tsBANG" as his muzzle hits the microphone.

[@gummboote]

The Muzio device would be a good bit of decor for a club or disco if you could get them in really large sizes, i.e. six or eight feet tall.

[@Doobie3010]

Then they would look like something from an old Sci-fi movie,which ould be cool.

[@buddyclem7328]

Brundle + fly = Brundlefly

[@Coloneljesus]

Finally some fresh Sunday content!

[@godofacorns]

The first meter with the two analog displays is straight up my alley. Pricey though! I might have to try my hand at building one.

[@KennethDPedersen]

I really enjoyed how much you sounded like the emperor from Star Wars when you said “peel it off, slower”

[@SharkoonBln]

I find your lack of slow-peeling disturbing... ;)

[@memyopinionsche6610]

It's weird and strangely satisfying at the same time.

[@michaelheimbrand5424]

Thank you for showing us the legendary Pioneer SX-1980 in the end. I am a vintage Pioneer addict and wanted the M-90 meters to show in this video. My M-90 need some work so i have lived without VU for a while now, and that is bad for health and sanity. The M-90 has more like Power meters (like SX 1980) so you will need some very hungry speakers to see any action. Somehow, two pairs of the wonderful KEF 105 Reference manage to travel safely from Kent to the south of Sweden so regarding powerhungry speakers, i am well covered for. And i can tell you that the Pioneer M-90 is absolutey wonderful to watch when it pumps out all that power to the mean KEF´s and show it on those wide power meters. Would be nice to see a video about that old high-end Pioneers. And also, i must say that they are very good stuff even today. They sound beautiful. And if they can keep up with KEF 105, you probably could charge a Tesla with it. And lets not forget how beautiful they are. I better stop before i get more carried away. Thank´s for a good video. To us that were kids when almost everybody had a good stereo, VU and that stuff will always work like catnip i guess.

[@AMTunLimited]

I'm gonna need to hear Techmoan work an entire video the way he said "peel it slower"

[@jswift1942]

I would imagine that these meters don't meet to official published VU meter specs. As a retired audio guy (some 40 years working in Hollywood) I can tell you that a lot of meters on pro audio equipment don't meet the official specs. But these are so much fun to watch and specs don't interfer with that fun.

[@dantx4545]

I know that all vfds have life expectancy issues but I have always loved the blue glow

[@TheAxio300]

I used to have a 95 honda prelude. The dash in that thing went all the way across the car, and the guages were VFD, it was like starting up a spaceship in a SciFi movie.

[@RussCottier]

The Dorrough meter is a fantastic tool for the studio and yes you are pretty correct it sure is pretty. There are a few interesting meters that have been released more recently but the dorrough is a classic!

[@godofacorns]

MORE VUs! YES! I CAN ALREADY FEEL THE POWER

[@kernelpickle]

Dorrough meters are solid for proper mix level monitoring and they’ve even made digital versions in the form of audio plugins that work with your favorite DAW.

[@jagardina]

Another video that is going to make me spend money. Resist! Resist! Nicely done, I enjoyed it, and I might even pick up some of the kit you discussed.

[@ciphermatrix]

That Muzio one really is quite striking, perfect for a party as you say.

[@josephletts1093]

Thanks Techmoan for yet another great video.

[@Siryn]

I just recently bought one that has a OLED panel off Ebay from China. Really cool and smooth.

[@off_on_one]

VU meters are one of my all time favourite things

[@fluffycritter]

The 46-97 on the dorrough logic board probably indicates that the board revision is from the 46th week of 1997, meaning it was built sometime after November 10 of that year.

[@jonsymmonds1120]

My favorite are always analog. I don't like damped analog, but just straight analog. Nice presentation!

[@skonkfactory]

Some of the chips in your Dorrough meter have a date code of 0027, which means the 27th week of 2000.

[@allanau]

I think you have 60 of them by now, you should plug them ALL of them in at once.

[@OM19_MO79]

Second that.

[@stepheneyles2198]

His electricity meter would probably burn up!!

[@off_on_one]

You should make a video about your whole collection of VU meters and call the video "The full spectrum"

[@CTyler84]

Bit of a wiring nightmare, but having them all on together would be quite a sight indeed.

[@bwagner23]

i had this exact thought watching this one; i really wanna see all of them going at the same time!

[@off_on_one]

@@bwagner23 Yes that would be amazing, and exactly the sort of thing I would do if I could afford all of them

[@klausstock8020]

I've got the feeling that Techmoan is already spending half of his time in the dark watching VU meters. And the other half of the time looking at nixie clocks waiting to film it when it shows 13:37. Preferably also in the dark. I guess you could modify a Lixie clock (like that kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5rUf2Wdh5aNpNU) to add a VU meter mode (the programming language does have a command to read an analogue signal). Just in case someone decides that "party mode" is not enough sensory overload...

[@brianrees8892]

The AK2515 is a great piece of kit. One is able to adjust the fall rate of the bars and peaks independently, as well as allowing for three levels of 'smoothing' Great display.

[@jfmc2581]

I knew a guy in the late 80s who had a Equalizer with spectrum analyzer that was beautiful! It really added to the experience, you could see the music you were hearing it was just so spot on. I think it was made by Pyramid but I haven't been able to find one like it...

[@majordisappointment8692]

Thanks Techmoan nice collection of VU Meters and flash alongs.

[@zachsteiner]

Techmoan is my absolute favorite youtuber

[@ericBcreator]

Nice! Since I got my first Sony graphic equalizer in the 80s I'm also a big fan of VU-meters, graphic analyzers, etc. Love the ones on my Revox tape recorders. Even my Akai EIE audio interface. I think using acrylic round sheets like the last product would suit perfectly to the Stereo NeoPixel Ring VU Meter project I created. The benefit being I can edit the code to the effects and colors I like. I'm waiting for the next video!

[@lancelefevre351]

Your outro music level was perfect on this video. Sometimes it can seem a little saturated or like the level is set too high and sound a little too boomy compared to the video audio level. Most KZbin videos audio levels vary so I wonder if it isn't due to the platform. Something to consider. Not that you're doing anything wrong, just some input from a viewer who truly enjoys your channel. I'm a huge fan and appreciate very much your work and efforts to bring your hobbies to life.

[@Gappasaurus]

on the dorrough, the first number of the date code is typically the week the board was manufactured, so week 46, around mid-november of ‘97.

[@angelvip2474]

VU meters for the win

[@hakonaasekristiansen2973]

The sound becomes just a bonus when you got these.

[@allan.n.7227]

Love VU meters. Love Techmoan. WIN WIN!

[@danielt.8573]

And we love music. Triple win.

[@fatandy8071]

Great Shows, Matt. Greetings from the U.S.A!

[@oleo007]

Spectrum analysers are so gorgeous, I have a pioneer GR777, watch this equalizer working is awesome. This video make my day great!!!!!

[@Akira1296]

Loved this video! Continuing a theme, you should check out the Dr. Scientist Spectrum Analyzer. It's designed for traveling music rigs and built like a tank.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

Digital UV meters can be nice looking, but there is something very elegant, and satisfying about a simple needled meter. The only thing I would change about the first meter, is make it optional colors for the background light (red, blue, green, white, and amber), along with a dimmer switch.

[@SharkoonBln]

What I like about the first one ( analogue one from lthuania ): The guy who builds them thinks about running them for years or even decades, and getting repaired then. Off-the-shelf components and even a little sticker telling you which LED to use for backlight. It´s like those power tools from the 50s or 60s which had a pack of spare carbon brushes inside the case, or those long-forgotten radios from the same era with a wiring diagram glued to the inside of the case.

[@adrianredodo]

Sometimes I've been so closed to buy and old cassette with an analitic Vumeters 'casuse I love it!

[@1974UTuber]

You would have loved a pair I had in the 90's. I had 2 x CD towers that held 26 CDs each. The shelves were plastic mounted in wooden cabinets and the perspex shelves had about 3 LEDs each mounted at the rear and the shelves would light up with the music and light up the CD cases as well. From memory it moved from green at the bottom to a pink then red to a purple blue colour at the top. It had a separate driver unit that sat on top of the amp and you could feed it either a line level signal or use the second speaker out on the amp. The speaker out option worked better as the level changed when you turned the volume up or down. The line in you had to set the preferred level with philips head at the back of the driver unit.

[@dizzym9554]

That Dorrough meter would have been really nice to have when I was DJing college FM radio. We strictly had to keep to a "-2" on the (same style as the first needle one you showed) analog VU meters on average but we also needed to make sure the peaks didn't go much above 0. Since said analog meters didn't really have any way of seeing separate peaks and averages, this was something you just kind of had to eyeball and it was easy to get it wrong and be sending out distorted audio whenever a song got too peaky.

[@realRickSanchez]

Don't forget the most beautiful VU meters are found in McIntosh amps, specially the larger ones, nothing else come close.

[@genejas]

Rupert neve consoles?

[@michaelledford4751]

The only manufacturer who uses laboratory grade VU Meters in their amps which use a meter setting correctly for the music listener to see exactly what constant wattage their using ,and see peak watt demand up to 8,000 watts is Mcintosh ,sadly Mcintosh began putting lab grade VU meters inside of China built meter housings that flex & cause meter failures when amps get hot ,unlike the VU Meter cases on my Mc-1201 monoblocks meter housings being made to survive 100 years,the meter housings on my bothers new Mc-452 are made of cheap plastic thats so thin & affected by heat that the cases warp & cause meter drag,the fix is to replacr a cheaply made meter housing with the same but new cheap housing ,or only use 2 points to attach the meter housing to the faceplate .

[@slickstretch6391]

That last one looks like it would be pretty fun to build.

[@emprsnm9903]

Ah, having been a teen in the early nineties, my first receiver had a spectrum analyzer. The JVC's with the metallic graphite color with amber/red VFD spectrum anayzer displays (and lots of buttons) hold a special place in my heart to this day. The RX-705V, RX-805V specifically (for reference). The only way they could have been better, would be if their VFDs were even bigger. I've got a RX-705V in the closet with a blown front channel I refuse to get rid of before I try fixing it, though real toshiba transistors are getting hard to find these days.

[@chrislawuk]

Oh man, I was so happy when I saw the price for that “frivolous” light toy thing. “Get it out for a party”? If by party you mean my entire life (which would be a grossly depressing interpretation of the word party), then yes

[@toki_-_wartooth]

you can also get the Dorrough meters as a VST plugin for audio software. Great video as always =)

[@WildStyle]

I have Oppo HA-1 and recently I got the RME ADI 2 DAC and there is pretty much only one reason why I got them. They just happened to be good too. :D

[@FarragoTheFox]

Always impressed by the quality of these videos.

[@zappawoman5183]

Excellent video as always! Very interesting, entertaining and informative.

[@kurtownsj00]

I always love to see something that actually responds to frequency, rather than the cheaper imitation visualization dealies.

[@Heos2A03]

can confirm that the CBC Radio in Canada uses the Dorrough Loudness Monitors. Great devices!

[@runepedersenDK]

Love the classic looking analog VU-meters. Would be nice to move them to a cool looking metal enclosure

[@lutello3012]

One of these companies needs to make a spectrogram display, I can stare at them all day.

[@reggiep75]

My Dad was well into making all sorts of amps, VU meters and EQ's back in the 70's and I probably got my fair share of lead solder fumes as I looked on at the electronic witchcraft that gave music a visualisation in my childhood!

[@shelby3822]

Wow that Dorrough is a work of art

[@derekporter7658]

Much prefer the traditional led vu meters. Great video!

[@zachbrown7272]

The DB-9 connector on the back of the Dorrough meter is most likely just another balanced audio in. DB connectors are commonly used as snake connectors in studios as you can send balanced audio through them without much loss.

[@steveswan5714]

Very well produced vid Matt but with my old ears I only need one that displays below 10khz it's all I can hear 😂

[@g2macs]

Good grief, I remember when having a meter on your hi-fi was a huge status symbol amongst your spotty mates.

[@proyectosledar]

I love LED vu meters !!!

[@Aleksa_Milicevic]

Your videos definitely need more VUs 👍

[@MattiasSjosten]

How would i actually go about connecting one of these devices though, some sort of rca splitter between the power amp and avr/receiver?

[@MrWombatty]

Most people record digitally these days using audio editing software & all those programs include VU-meter displays, but it's nice to have ones like that last RGB WiFi display just for the fun of it!

[@artifactingreality]

Yeah, the Lithuanian chap did do a great job putting that VU together. Looked cheap on the outside but not bad on the inside. Not bad at all.

[@vvvictoriav5958]

yesssss more VUs! I'd watch the channel even if they were the only thing you did!

[@lesrogers7310]

I now have an American Audio LED dB Display Meter Mk.II. These are reasonably inexpensive considering they're made for DJ use, but they're also great for home use. They fit in well with normal width hi-fi separates and add a little 'visual flair'. My only complaint with my unit is that the small round LEDs are not uniformly lit (ie: the same brightness as each other), but otherwise it's good value for the money.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

It gives great feels to the audio and visual response... Like ASMR but visually..

[@Fluteboy]

3:54 - So who is a member of the "Peel it slower" brigade? Come on, own up!

[@Jako1987]

I am not. But Techmoan should consider making an ASMR channel 🤣

[@Nolroa]

@@Jako1987 I hope not. Can you imagine a video of him whispering something like: "This was a strange recording format from the seventies, relax while I tell you why it failed in the market"?

[@davidverbeek4849]

@@Nolroa that is someone's fetish, not mine but someone else's

[@life5161]

I installed this App on my phone called Muviz. While it isn't completely accurate it's a cool little visualizer that works on any capable smart phone. You can design your own even. I love it. Use mine every day. I hope someone makes a more accurate one though someday

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

Thank you for these videos. The effort is appreciated.

[@barkaiyaari3176]

Loved this video Thx for uploading!!!

[@ChristopherBell]

These remind me of all the winamp vis plugins.

[@Scottie_S]

I still use winamp as my preferred mp3 player. I don't seem to be able to find an app that is as versatile as it.

[@arjovenzia]

+1 for winamp 2.x We built a video wall at work a while ago, bout 3m x 6m, 10mm pitch. Friday afternoon after it was finished, i hung back to have a little play. Beer in hand, l loaded up milkdrop n cranked to workshops hifi. Rather impressive, to put it mildly. The other thing was to fire up Quake. Cos, ya know, if it dosent run quake, whats the point? Unfortunately the boss wouldn't let me keep it.

[@MIGHTYcbu]

WinAmp was/is horrible, standard set to loudness, not to talk about the horrible interface with a million skins, none of them any good. Even iTunes is better.

[@bobdeinterlace]

I use foobar2000 with old winamp visualizer plug-ins.

[@arjovenzia]

@@MIGHTYcbu Really? Its the only media player that actually acts like a media player. 'Horrible interface'? Like, a 90's cd player? What else does a media player need? Set to loudness? Im not even sure what that means. The EQ is right there to diddle with. I turn it off, digital EQ is folly regardless of platform. Vlc n foobar come close, n i like them both, but when in Windows, its winamp. You say skins like its a neg... i admit, id change a skin to match my desktop back in the day, cant be bothered now. But its just a skin. If you open a skin in image software, its just a big .bmp. lots of plugins, global hotkeys, search that works, a solid playlist system, and a random that is actually random. I beseech you, what media player is better? Itunes and Wmp are both abortions that people have gotten used to, un-aware of better. I admit, winamp works much better if you have a well maintained file structure for your archive. Which you should. And its no good for modern video. Which is why we have vlc. Im not going to try to convert you, but what do you suggest is better than winamp? Id really like to know, everything else ive tried is a pigs ear...

[@Chriva]

The main processor of the Dorrough unit was produced in 2000 week 27 so the date on the board is probably when that revision was drawn in whatever cad program they used :)

[@ArcadeDude44]

Awesome, as always! Thank you, sir👍

[@ThatsViews]

Fascinating stuff, as ever.

[@BlokeOzzie]

If I had my studio up and running, I'd be sampling that "Peel it slower" and putting it to some appropriate music...

[@ZWFigy]

The timeing I was waching old videos vu from you

[@Dextrovix-42]

Muzio VU Meter LED Music Tower's UK listing has ended on eBay 50 minutes ago...