How come the gain setting tutorial explicitly says NOT to use attenuated test tones?
"Step 2: Choosing the test tones you’ll use
Tones can be found here:
http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164136
I’ve provided 4 different sets of tones and I’ll give a brief description of why one would use that particular set of tones.
0 dB:
Pros – No chance of clipping, very small chance of damaging equipment
Cons – Most music won’t reach 0 dB unless you’re running full range speakers, so you probably won’t get full performance
-3 dB:
Pros – Small chance of clipping with music in subs, small chance of damaging equipment, better performance than 0 dB
Cons – Small amount of clipping on peaks with some music (speakers)
-6 dB:
Pros – Better performance than -3 dB and 0 dB
Cons – User must be able to detect stress in equipment to prevent damage, moderate amount of clipping with some music (speakers), small amount of clipping with some music (subs)
-10 dB:
Not recommended for amateurs
As implied in the above descriptions, the choice of music you listen to may influence the tones you use as well. With pretty much all genres, I found that the mids had peaks above -1 dB, so I wouldn’t recommend that newbies use anything higher than -3 dB for setting the speaker amplifier. However, bass (20 Hz - 80 Hz), is a completely different story. I’ve analyzed a few dozen different songs from a variety of genres with Adobe Audition and here are some briefs descriptions.
Rap/Hip-Hop/Pop – Most of the songs in these genres had peaks in the -9 dB to -3 dB range. I recommend using 0 dB or -3 dB tones if you primarily listen to these genres.
Rock/Metal/Jazz/Classical – Most of the songs in this genre had peaks in the -12 to -6 dB range. I recommend using 0 dB, -3 dB, or -6 dB tones if you primarily listen to these genres.
After choosing the tones, download them and burn them to a CD."
ive been using -6db test tones for forever with rap and reggae as my main music of choice. ive seen a few rap songs that never went above -8db and in that general range. you will be fine. jmacs tutorial was more so designed for safety than performance.
