Metric A | B

Plugin Manual v1.4

Metric AB Manual v1.4

Copyright ADPTR AUDIO 2023

For more tutorials and videos check out www.adptraudio.com

CREDITS and THANKS

Concept & Design: Marc Adamo

Development: Stephen Blinkhorn, Theo Burt, Jaroslav Pevno, Akash Murthy, Dave Elton
& Mark Collins.
Thanks to all the beta testers and the amazing team at Plugin Alliance.
THE ULTIMATE MIX REFERENCE AND ANALYSIS PLUGIN

Metric AB enables you to compare your mix to other mixes with a simple click of the A-B button.

It is designed to provide you with an easy, elegant work ow.

From drag and drop le loading (you can even drop multiple reference tracks in one go), instant volume
matching, cue and loop functions, to more advanced features including multiple analyses (spectrum,
correlation, stereo pan) to industry compliant loudness and dynamics metering.
Type to enter text
The trick with using reference les is to be able to instantly hear the contrast and differences between
your mix and the kinds of sounds you aspire to. Adding visual feedback from multiple analyses types
gives you the visual con rmation of the audio information you are hearing. In environments where
listening facilities are less than ideal, it’s even more important to be able to do visual checks to ensure
the sound is really there.

Using both audio and visual information provides you with the feedback you need to make better
decisions on what to do with your mix to get the best possible results. When you are armed with this
level of precision and detail, it empowers you to move forward with con dence, knowing that each
creative decision is backed by undeniable evidence.

Mix With Con dence

Marc Adamo : ADPTR AUDIO
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 CONTENTS Metric A | B
4 - Contents 28 - Analyses - Common Controls : Display styles
5 - Operation : Signal Flow / A-B Button 29 - Analyses - Common Controls : Draw Transport
6 - Gain Faders 30 - Analyses - Spectrum
7 - Playback Page 31 - Analyses - Spectrum : Intro and Ballistics
8 - Playback Page : Loading tracks / toggle A-B stream 32 - Analyses - Spectrum : Graph types
9 - Playback Page : Track Menu 33 - Analyses - Correlation
10 - Playback Page : Playback Modes : Latch, Cue, Sync 34 - Analyses - Correlation : Intro and meters
11 - Playback Page : Sync Mode - Delay Compensation 35 - Analyses - Correlation : History Graph
12 - Playback Page : Sync Mode Marker : Manual Mode 36 - Analyses - Stereo Image
13 - Playback Page : Cue Markers 37 - Analyses - Stereo Image : Intro
14 - Playback Page : Loop Markers 38 - Analyses - Stereo Image : Examples
15 - Playback Page : Zoom Waveform 39 - Analyses - Dynamics
16 - Playback Page : Filters 40 - Analyses - Dynamics : Intro and Display
17 - Playback Page : Filters - graphical editing 41 - Analyses - Dynamics : Targets, Scale, Pre/Post Filter
18 - Playback Page : Zoom Hz and Zoom dB 42 - Analyses - Loudness
19 - Output Meters 43 - Analyses - Loudness : Intro, Meters and Targets
20 - Output Meters - Monitoring Options 44 - Analyses - Loudness : History Graph
21 - Compact UI and Resize 45 - Settings Panel : Intro
22 - Presets : Preset Menu Option 45 - Settings Panel : Default Settings
23 - Presets : Missing Files 46 - Settings Panel : General Settings
24 - Automation and Midi Controllers: List 47 - Settings Panel :Additional Settings
25 - Automation and Midi Controllers: examples
26 - Volume and Loudness Matching
27 - Loudness Match modes
 OPERATION Metric A | B
Operation
Load Metric AB onto the Master Bus of your
DAW. Place it AFTER all mastering plugins to
loudness match the levels of commercially
mastered reference tracks.

Signal Flow
The DAW signal is monitored through the 1 2 1 2
1 A STREAM, and is represented by the BLUE
color in the various meters.

The REFERENCE tracks are monitored

2 through the B STREAM, and are represented
by the ORANGE color in the various meters. 3 3

A-B button

Toggle the audio stream between A (the DAW)

3 and B (the reference tracks).
A Stream Selected B Stream Selected
The buttons turns blue when the A stream is This is your DAW mix Reference Tracks
selected and orange when the B stream is
selected.
5
 OPERATION Metric A | B

Stream Gain Faders

Use the A and B-Stream faders to turn the volume
1 up or down by +/- 18 dBs.

This can be useful when you have already used the

loudness match function to change the gain for
individual B stream tracks, and you want to calibrate all
of them to a new A stream mix.
1 1
Another scenario is when you are mastering your mix,
and it is getting incrementally louder as you add more
compression and limiting, so you only need to adjust
the B-fader a little to keep all the B tracks level
matched.

All changes to the gain are pre-analysis, so you

will see exactly what you hear in the analysis
display.

In some DAWS (Logic etc.) you will need to pass audio through Metric AB before you can
hear the B stream reference tracks. This can be an inherent condition of using Audio Unit and
VST FX, as they like to preserve CPU by switching off plugins when there’s no audio at the 6
PLAYBACK PAGE : WORKFLOW
 PLAYBACK PAGE Metric A | B
Loading a Reference Track and Toggling the A-B stream.

1 Click on the Playback Icon to view the Playback When a B track is selected, the stream automatically
page. switches to the B stream.
Drag and drop audio files onto a track slot or onto You can also toggle the stream back and forth by
2
the wave display area. clicking on the track name. This saves you having to
move back to the A-B button.
Select a track by clicking one of the 16 track select
3
buttons. If you prefer to select a B-track while still listening to
the A stream, then use shift-click to select the B track.
4 Toggle the A-B button to switch streams

2 3
8
 PLAYBACK PAGE Metric A | B

File Formats: PCM Up to 192k/32bit

Click the Track Menu button to show the options. MAC : WAV / AIFF / MP3 / FLAC / AAC / M4a
WIN : WAV / AIFF / MP3 / FLAC / M4a

Load Audio - Use this option to load a track from You can also drop several tracks at once onto a slot,
Finder / Explorer. and the tracks will be loaded into sequential slots.

Show In Finder - Opens finder window at the file To Load a folder of tracks, click on the Preset Menu
location. and select ‘Import Folder Contents’
Remove Track – Use this to remove any unwanted
tracks. Please note, this will overwrite all the currently
loaded tracks.
Clear Track Settings – this resets all track
parameters including Cue and loop points, playback To manually edit the order of tracks, click on the track
mode, volume and loudness matching. name and drag it to a new position. If the destination
Organise Tracks - Groups tracks together and is already occupied, it will swap places with the new
shuffles empty cells to the end of the list. track.

9
 PLAYBACK PAGE Metric A | B
Playback Mode 3. SYNC to DAW timeline
As per Latch mode, this uses the DAW transport to play/
There are four playback modes to choose from, each pause the reference track, but it also sets the playback
has its specific purpose. position of the track from the DAW timeline.
Select the option from the menu.
E.g. If you playback the DAW at 2m30secs the B stream
Modes: Latch, Cue, Sync and Manual will playback at 2m30secs into the track.
IF the DAW is set to loop a specific region, then the B
stream will also loop.

Sync Offset
In some cases, you may need to start the track from a
later position in the timeline. To do this, put the DAW
play-head to the desired position and click the “SET”
button.

1. Latch to DAW transport

This is the default playback mode; it uses the DAW
transport to play/pause the reference track.
You will notice the sync time has updated to show the
2. Cue aka “Cue Latch”
same time.
As per Latch mode, this uses the DAW transport to
play/pause the reference track, but it adds an You can also manually edit the time for
important extra feature that works with the Cue Hours, Minutes, Seconds and Milliseconds.
points. Hold SHIFT while editing the samples amount for
It restarts playback from the selected Cue point bigger increments.
when the A-B button is toggled to select the B Click the “Reset” button to reset the time to zero
stream, or when the track button is clicked. i.e. bar 1.
10
 PLAYBACK PAGE Metric A | B

Sync Mode Click the PDC button - it opens the Manual Align
1
PDC - Manual Plugin delay compensation window. By default, this will activate PDC and you
will see the PDC button text turn orange.
Are the tracks not synchronising correctly even
though you’ve lined them up? Start the transport
Chances are then, that the DAW is not correctly
Notice how you can hear both streams
compensating for plugin latencies. 2 simultaneously. This helps us line up the tracks.

This can happen with several of the major DAWs for Drag the ‘Samples’ value until both streams line up.
3 When they are aligned, it should sound like a very
varied reasons, so we created PDC mode to help you
manually line up the tracks and achieve perfect sync. tight, static flanger or comb filter.

PDC is a global setting, so you will see the same Stop the transport, close the PDC window by clicking
4 the PDC button (or the X button) and get back to
settings for all tracks which are using SYNC mode.
mixing.
PDC is a global setting, so you will see the same
settings for all tracks which are using SYNC mode. 5 Toggle the Active button to bypass PDC.

If you don’t stop the transport before opening and

closing the PDC window, it will ask you to restart the
transport to ensure the correct PDC is being measured 2
and used.
Once you restart the transport the message will
disappear.
1 5 4
3
Hold SHIFT while editing the samples amount for
bigger increments.
11
 PLAYBACK PAGE Metric A | B

Manual Mode
Sync Mode
4. Manual. Use the Play / pause and Rewind buttons
1 Start offset marker
to playback the track.
This mode is suited for DAWs, editors and hosts which
If you want to start the track at a specific position, don’t broadcast song position or transport information
drag the Sync Marker to the desired position. to the plugins.
This can be useful if you have changed your
arrangement but still want to reference to a previous
mix with a different arrangement.
You can apply the current Playback Mode to all tracks by
selecting Apply to All Tracks.
1

Use SYNC when you are comparing alternative mixes of the DAW track.
BOUNCE YOUR MIX AT THE START OF THE SESSION
THEN COMPARE BACK AND FORTH AS YOU MIX TO SEE THE CHANGES.
12
 CUE AND LOOP MARKERS Metric A | B
Each track can have up to 4 Cue Markers To edit a cue point, just drag it to the desired
2 position.
To set a Cue Marker, click on one of the four Cue To delete it, right click on the Cue button
1 buttons. (or the Cue marker on the waveform)
and select Delete Cue from the menu.
A cue point will be set at the current playback position.
You can now click on the button to start playback from
that position. You can also select the cue by clicking on the
3
You can also drag and drop cue points onto the waveform. Cue markers on top in the waveform overview.

13
 CUE AND LOOP MARKERS Metric A | B

Loop

To loop an area click on the Loop button, this will

1 set the loop marker to the current playback
position. Toggle the button to deactivate the loop.

To edit the loop, drag the marker to the desired 6

2 position.
To delete the loop, right-click on the marker and
select Delete Loop marker.

To retain the loop size and move it to a new 3

3 position, drag the loop while clicking on the
horizontal orange loop bar.

Move the loop start forward to the current end

4 point, or move the end back to the start.
2
You can quickly resize the loop using the
5 double and half size buttons.

Right-Click inside the loop region and 1

6 select Reset Loop to reset to full length. 4 5

If you have set a loop to a speci c bar length e.g. 4 bars, you can move the loop forwards or
backwards by 4 bars by clicking the “Forwards” and “Backwards” arrow buttons.
This is especially useful for quickly moving around a track with precise BPM loops. 14
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 CUE AND LOOP MARKERS Metric A | B

Zoom in on the waveform to set Cue and Loop markers accurately

Zoom in and out on the waveform with the scroll Alternatively, you can drag the highlighted area
1 wheel.
3 in the top waveform to reposition the zoom.

You can also move left and right using the scroll bar
2 and the scroll wheel on the mouse.

15
 FILTERS Metric A | B
Use the Filters to isolate the key frequencies in the mix and focus on the details

Toggle the Filters button to activate Toggle a Preset Button to quickly

1 2
the filters audition Sub, Bass, Low Mid, Mid and
High frequency ranges.

1 4 5

3 2

3 Frequency Range 5 Use the Range Selector to

You can edit the high and low values of audition below / inside / above the
a preset by drag-editing the values range.

4 Filter Slope menu

Choose from 12, 24, 36 or 48 dB

16
 FILTERS Metric A | B
Edit the Filters directly on the graphs

When the mouse hovers over the analysis graph, The highlight area represents the selected frequency
1
it now shows a cross-hair with the frequency in range, exactly what you are hearing through the filters.
Hz and the Midi.
You can edit the high and low frequency values directly
on the graph in several ways.
It also shows a 3rd value, relevant to the analysis mode.
For spectrum, it also shows the volume in dBs, for
correlation it shows the phase, and for stereo image it Move the mouse to the edge of the selected range,
shows the L-R pan position.
2 the cross-hair will hide and you can now drag the
boundary to the desired frequency.

You can select above or below the current

range by clicking anywhere inside the
2
desired range.

you can also use the range selector

Type to enter text
3 to select below / inside / above the
range.
You can use the scroll wheel to increase or
1 decrease the size of the range.

If the range becomes too small to

4 grab, you can position the mouse
3 over the grey circle below the Hz
4 Axis and use the scroll wheel to
increase/decrease the range and
drag left-right to reposition.
17
 FILTERS Metric A | B
Zoom and Workflow Tips

Zoom Hz: For manual zoom use the high and low If you edit a value for a preset, it will retain these settings
1
number boxes. automatically.

The zoom can automatically follow the selected

range by clicking the LINK icon. If you select You can also save the setting as the default by right-
2 above or below the range, you will see the zoom clicking and select ‘save as default’.
update the display to show the new selection.
Other options include
Restore to User Default
Restore to Factory Default
Restore all factory Defaults

3 2
You can view and define your
user defaults in the settings
Zoom dB: Manual zoom using the high and low
3 number boxes. Toggle the Zoom by clicking the menu.
button. Max range is +36dB.
18
 OUTPUT METERS Metric A | B

The output meter shows the volume as Peak and 1

1 RMS for both channels.
3

You can toggle the scale between the default

full-range (-48dB) or zoom into the top section
(-18dB).
2
Just double click anywhere on the meter scale
between the blue and orange volume meters.

The digital readout shows the highest Peak and

3 highest RMS levels.
Click either one to reset the values for that
channel.
Click on the RMS or PEAK label in the centre to
reset both channels.

Use the zoomed scale to get a higher resolution / more detailed

look when mixing and mastering. 19
 OUTPUT METERS Metric A | B

Monitoring Options

Click one of the monitor option buttons to

monitor the signal.

Mono = Collapsed from Stereo

L = Left channel only
R = Right Channel only
Sides = Just the “difference” information extracted
Mono Selected
from the Mid/Side signal.
Solo In Place. Use this to Solo either the TT
S = left of right channels in isolation.
Select S and then click either of the L or R
button to hear it in the relative output.

It’s easier to check the volume levels

of all components in the mix in Mono. Left Channel + Solo In Place

Checking the mix in Mono is important for broadcast compatibility.

20
 COMPACT UI AND RESIZE Metric A | B
Click on the Resize UI icon.
1 This opens the UI size menu where you can 1
choose from 4 sizes, Small, Normal, Large and 2
Extra Large.

If you want to make this selection the default size, then

click the menu and select ‘Set Current as Default’.

2 Toggle the Compact UI icon to switch to a

smaller interface and back to full size. 6 7
The track select buttons are now located under
3
the A-B button.
Hover the mouse over the button to preview
3 the full name of the track.

4 Select the Cue using buttons 1-4.

Use the A and B-Stream faders to turn the

5 volume up or down by +/- 18 dBs.

6 Loudness Match A + B 3 4

7 Loudness Match All Tracks

21
 PRESETS Metric A | B

Preset Menu Create Archive: Save the preset and copy the audio files
to a folder. Use this when you need to move the preset to
use on another computer or you just want to collect all
1 Click on the preset name to open the preset the audio files together in one place.
menu It is also ideal if you want to send your reference tracks
to another mix engineer.
New Preset: Creates a new blank preset with defaults.
Import Folder Contents: Select this to open a folder of
Open Preset: Open a preset using finder / explorer
audio files. If there are more than 16 audio files in the
Save Preset: Saves the current preset, it will prompt folder, Metric will only load the first 16 files.
you to name it if you haven’t already done so.
Save Preset As: Saves the current preset, it will Locate Missing Files: Launches the missing files
prompt you to name it. helper to help you locate missing files.

Presets: This opens a sub menu with all your saved

presets.
1

New Folder: You can create sub-folders to organise

your presets.
Reveal in Finder / Explorer: Opens the folder in
which the current preset is saved.

Open Default Preset: Shortcut to open the default

preset.

Save As Default Preset: Save the current preset,

including ballistics settings and FFT preferences etc.

22
 PRESETS Metric A | B

MISSING FILES

When a file cannot be found, a missing files dialog If the missing files are no longer needed, click
window will open. 3 Remove Missing Files.
This can happen when loading a preset or recalling a This will remove them from the preset / session
session. and Metric will not ask for them anymore.

6 5
1 2 3

If you know the folder, click Search in folder and To select the file individually, click Locate.
1 navigate to the folder. 4 When a file has been located, it will display
the replacement path and name.
Metric will search for all missing files, so you can
relink multiple missing files this way.
5 When you have finished, click Finish.
A search bar is displayed while Metric is
searching;
if you want to cancel the search click the Cancel If you don’t care, click Skip all to kick the can
2 Search button. 6 down the road.

23
 AUTOMATION AND MIDI CONTROLLERS Metric A | B

List of Automation Parameters

Metric AB works with the host automation and controller • A Stream Fader
assignment systems. • A-B switch
• B Stream Fader
It does not receive MIDI CC messages, so if you want to • Filter High Frequency
use a hardware controller, you will need to link it via the
• Filter Low Frequency
host automation system.
• Filter Mode
This is primarily designed to provide hands on use via • Filter Preset Select
hardware controllers, and to this end the controls are • Filter Slope
limited to the list over on the right.
• Filter Switch
• Filter Zoom Lock
• Loudness Match (For Selected Track)*
• Loudness Match All
• T
Meter Zoom (toggle between regular and hi-res)
• Mini-Mode (toggle between compact and full size GUI)
• PDC Switch On/Off
• PDC Value (m/s)
• Select Cue (Cue 1-4) (For Selected Track)*
• Select TAB (playback and various analyses windows)
• Selected Track (1-16)
• Stereo In Place (in conjunction with L or R solo)
Using Logic’s Smart Controls with Metric AB • Stereo Mode (Stereo/Mono/ L / R /Sides)
• Track Gain (volume) (For Selected Track) *.
• UI Scale (Small, Normal, Large, Extra Large)

* (For Selected Track) This keeps the focus on the current track, and
streamlines the set up process for controllers.

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 AUTOMATION AND MIDI CONTROLLERS Metric A | B

• A Stream Fader
An example setup for Stereo Mode – you can set up four • A-B switch
momentary action toggle buttons to represent the four
• B Stream Fader
buttons shown on the GUI.
• Filter High Frequency
Function • Filter Low Frequency
Value Function Low Value
High • Filter Mode
Mono 30% Stereo 1% • Filter Preset Select
Left 50% Stereo 1% • Filter Slope
Right 80% Stereo 1% • Filter Switch
Sides 100% Stereo 1% • Filter Zoom Lock
• Loudness Match (For Selected Track)*
You can use a similar method for cue and track select,
• Loudness Match All
assigning one button per track, but this time, make sure
the high and low numbers are identical for each button, • Meter Zoom (toggle between regular and hi-res)
so to avoid any toggle action. • Mini-Mode (toggle between compact and full size GUI)
• PDC Switch On/Off
Cue Marker select values: • PDC Value (m/s)
• Select Cue (Cue 1-4) (For Selected Track)*
Function High Value Low Value
CUE 1 1% 1% • Select TAB (playback and various analyses windows)

CUE 2 30% 30% • Selected Track (1-16)

CUE 3 60% 60% • Stereo In Place (in conjunction with L or R solo)

CUE 4 100% 100% • Stereo Mode (Stereo/Mono/ L / R /Sides)

• Track Gain (volume) (For Selected Track) *.
• UI Scale (Small, Normal, Large, Extra Large)
Track select values:

Track Select # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Value % 1 8 15 20 25 35 40 48 54 58 64 70 77 86 92 100

25
 VOLUME & LOUDNESS MATCHING Metric A | B

Use the loudness matching function to automatically Audio must be playing through both the A and B
match the volume of the reference tracks and the A streams to enable matching.
stream. If no audio is present in either of the A or B streams,
it will display the message Matching Failed

Click on the loudness Match button, it will now

start calculating. It takes approximately 4
1 seconds to work its magic, at which point the
gain of the reference track will be adjusted to
match the A stream.

2
Loudness Match measures the Integrated LUFS of
1 each stream.
As the volume of your mix changes, you may need to
do additional loudness matching.

You can manually adjust the gain by up to If the results are close, but not close enough, you
2 +/-18dBs in 0.1dB increments. can manually adjust the gain of each reference track
You can reset the gain by double clicking the until you are satisfied.
gain value box.

26
 VOLUME & LOUDNESS MATCHING Metric A | B

Loudness Match Modes and Menu Match Single Track or Match All
The quick access Loudness Match buttons are on
the Compact UI, under the Output meter.

1 Match Single Reference track (current selection)

2 Match All Reference tracks

1 2
Right-Click (ctrl+click) to show the Loudness Match
menu.

The default loudness match mode is Match B to A. Right-Click (ctrl+click) to show the Loudness Match
menu. The selected mode is used for both Match
There are 3 additional Loudness Match Modes. Single and Match All modes.

Match A to B: Matches the A stream to the current

Reference track.
Match to Lowest Volume: Calculates which stream
has the lowest LUFS and matches the louder one to
the lowest one.
Match to LUFS: Displays current LUFS setting on the
Default Settings page. You can edit this to any LUFS
between -24 LUFS and 0 LUFS.
27
 Analyses Modes Metric A | B

Common Controls

Display: Single, Dual or Layered 2 Dual = each audio streams has its own panel.

1 2

1 Single = shows selected stream only

Layered = both audio streams in one panel, the
Select the stream using the A-B button 3 selected audio stream is shaded and bold.

28
 Analyses Modes Metric A | B

Common Controls

Draw Transport You can set custom graph styles and ballistics
for each analyses page.

2 Plot
3

1 Play/Pause: Manual play / pause

Octaves
Reset: Resets all readings including
2 History graphs and Integrated LUFS.

Latch to DAW transport: This will pause

3 readings including current Integrated
LUFS and will continue when the DAW
restarts.
Multi-Band

29
ANALYSES PAGES

Spectrum
 Spectrum Meter Metric A | B

Click on the Spectrum icon to view the Spectrum meter. Ballistics

You can edit the ballistics of each component by
dragging the number boxes below each button.
You can save your favourite Ballistic values as defaults,
so they will load automatically each time you open a
new instance of Metric AB. To do this, right click on any
of the ballistics number boxes, and select “Save as
Default” from the menu. It will save all three values for
the current analysis mode.

Toggle the Peak, Hold and Average buttons to enable Set the Average time to INFINITE to build up a
them in the visualizer. 1 picture of the average frequency content
throughout the track.
Peak and Average show the respective values while the
Hold button enables the “Peak Hold” time shown below This can be easier to read than a fast moving
the button. graph.

1 31
 Spectrum Meter Metric A | B

Select the graph type from the menu. Multi-Band

You can edit the frequency range for each band on the
settings page.

Select Plot, Octave, 3rd Octave, Critical or Multi-Band.

Try using Octaves when you want to

compare the bars side by side.

When using the layered display, we recommend

comparing just Peak or Average to avoid information
overload.
32
ANALYSES PAGES

Correlation
 Correlation Meter Metric A | B

Click on the Correlation icon to view the Correlation meter. Meters

Select Meters to use the Multi-Band Correlation.

1 This measures the stereo image across different
frequency ranges.
It enables us to see which parts of the signal are in or
out of phase.

Select the graph type from the menu.

2 Choose from Plot, Octave, 3rd Octave, Critical
and Multi-Band.

Toggle the

3 Range

4 Hold and
Average buttons to enable them in the
There are two types of correlation meters available, 5 visualizer.
Meters and History.
Range and Average show the respective values while
the Hold button enables the “Range Hold” time shown
2 below the button.
1 You can edit the ballistics of each component by
3 4 5 dragging the number boxes below each button.
Full Band Correlation is displayed on the right side of
the screen.
34
 CORRELATION METER Metric A | B

History Graph 1 Scroll 2

Click the History button to use the correlation history Click the Scroll button to set the window size for the
graph. This enables us to see the correlation values history graph between 10 seconds and 10 minutes.
over a time period. This is useful for getting an When scroll is off, the window will adapt to fit the
overview of a whole track, or catching the odd anomaly elapsed time up to a maximum of 10 minutes.
that could be missed using a momentary visualizer.

2 1

35
ANALYSES PAGES

Stereo Image
 STEREO IMAGE Metric A | B

Stereo Image
Click on the Stereo Image Icon to view the Stereo There are two components displayed on the meter.
Image meter.
Average Range

Toggle the Range, Hold and Average buttons to enable

them in the visualizer.
Range and Average show the respective values while the
Hold button enables the “Range Hold” time shown below
the button.
You can edit the ballistics of each component by dragging
The Stereo Image page allows us to check the the number boxes below each button.
comparative left-right gain of the track over the whole
frequency spectrum.
It gives you a visual view of the sonic movement of
your track in the horizontal plane. Below the graph is a meter displaying the overall image
rating.
The frequency range is represented by the Y-axis, while
the power is on the X-axis (Left – Right).

37
 STEREO IMAGE Metric A | B
Stereo Image Example Analysis The B stream (right side) shows a track that has even
stereo pan distribution.
The A stream (left side) shows a track processed through Compare the Average line of each (lighter shade)
Logic’s stereo Image plugin.
The A stream weaves alternatively from left to right,
This produces the wide distribution of energy in alternate while the B stream is spread much narrower, indicating a
frequency bands. more natural, even stereo image distribution across each
frequency band.

38
ANALYSES PAGES

Dynamics
 DYNAMICS Metric A | B

Click on the Dynamics icon to view the dynamics Dynamics Display

Top: The current PSR as a large digital number.

Middle: Description matching the PSR value to help make

associations between dynamic qualities and PSR values.
Low: % Above Target: This shows the % of time that the
audio is above the dynamic target.

Dynamics are measured using an algorithm called PSR.

This process analyses peak volume and short-term
loudness data to measure the dynamic range of a signal.
The results are calculated in dBs. In general: higher PSR values represent higher
dynamic range,
The horizontal Red represents the Target Value. lower values represent low dynamic range and
compression.
You can set the manually or select a guide from the
preset menu.

40
 DYNAMICS Metric A | B
Dynamics Target
Scroll: This allows you to set the window size for the
Set the target Dynamic value using the number box, or
1 history graph between 10 seconds and 10 minutes.
choose a preset from the menu as a guideline. The
When scroll is off, the window will adapt to fit the time
target value is shown as a red line on the history graph.
accrued up to a maximum of 10 minutes.
When the level drops below the line, the meter shows a
red fill to indicate that the dynamic range is lower and Auto Scale: Use this to automatically scale the Y Axis
more compressed than the target. 2 (PSR) to best fit the range of measurements.
Pre/Post Filter: You can measure the dynamics of a
selected frequency range by activating the Post Filter
3 button. Now you can select the frequency range using
the filter unit. Perfect for analyzing bass dynamics and
other specialist ranges.

A target of 12-14 is great for a mix-down. 1 2

A target of 7-8 will result in a loud master that still
retains dynamics.
A lot of dance music can be as high as 5-6, but above
this tends to sound very squashed.

As a general guideline to dynamics, the PSR can vary quite a lot depending on the
composition and the elements of a track. A drumbeat is much more dynamic than a
sustained pad, so you can expect to see this kind of variation throughout a track. 41
ANALYSES PAGES

Loudness
 Click on the Loudness icon to
access the Loudness meter.
LOUDNESS Metric A | B

Loudness Meters: Use the Loudness meters and history Toggle the Meters/History button accesses
graphs to measure Integrated (I), Short Term (S) and 1 the different meter pages.
Momentary loudness (M), along with True Peak, RMS and
PLR.

On the meters page, you can set a Target LUFS, as well Loudness Target: Use the Target menu to set a
as see all the loudness types. Alongside I, S and M, are loudness target, including EBU R128 and other
2 broadcast standards. When target values are
Loudness Range, PLR (Peak to Loudness ratio) to measure
dynamic range as well as True Peak and RMS. exceeded, the meters will show red to indicate the

2
43
 LOUDNESS Metric A | B
The history page allows you to select any combination Scroll: This allows you to set the window size for
of I, S and M in the visualizer. 1 the history graph between 10 seconds and 10
When using layered display, we recommend comparing minutes.
just one or two selections of I, S or M to avoid When scroll is off, the window will adapt to fit the
information overload. time accrued up to a maximum of 10 minutes.
2
By default, the history graph displays the entire Auto Scale: Use this to automatically scale the Y
timeline history in the window. Axis (PSR) to best fit the range of measurements.

1 2
44
 SETTINGS PANEL Metric A | B

1 Click the settings icon to access settings 2 You can also click the settings button on
for analyses mode. the tool panel

45
 SETTINGS PANEL Metric A | B

Default Settings
These settings are saved and become the defaults
for when a new instance of the plugin is opened.

Load Default Preset: If you have created a default 1

1 preset, then select this to automatically load the default
preset when a new instance of the plugin is opened.
2
Meter Zoom: This will make the Output Meter scale to
18dB range instead of the factory default of 48db. You
2 can also click on the meter itself to toggle between 3
18db and 48db at any time.
Revert to A-Stream on Close: This will automatically 4
3 switch to the A-Stream any time you close the plugin
window.
5
Default Playback Mode: Select the default playback
mode for all B tracks between Latch, Cue, Sync and
Manual. Now when you load a B track, it will
6
4
automatically select this mode for you, so if you prefer
to use Cue or Sync modes as your default, select it
from the menu.
Loudness Match LUFS: Set the LUFS target for the
5 loudness match LUFS mode. Range = -24 LUFS to 0
LUFS.
Default Match Mode: Select the default Loudness
6 Match mode for each new instance of the plugin.

46
 SETTINGS PANEL Metric A | B

General Settings
These settings are turned on and off by the user for this 3 Graphics Latency: Click this box to synchronise the
instance of the plugin. audio with the visual display for the spectrum, correlation
and stereo image meters.
Under normal circumstances, the visuals lag a few
milliseconds behind the audio. This is natural because
the meters have to analyse the sound before they can
1 display the results.

2 When the visual results are totally in sync with the audio,
you will see what you hear, and hear what you see. The
difference in perception is sublime, transients and
3 decaying sounds are instantly recognisable as
everything becomes sharper. Now your mind is able to
make better associations between the audio and visual
images.

Tool Tips
1 Click this box to activate Tool Tips. Hover over a
Because this introduces a lag in the audio, it’s not
ideal for situations where you are using a MIDI
button, display or any area of the plugin to find out
keyboard to record performances.
what it does and how it works.

2 B Track Selection Resets Analysis

Click this box if you want the analysis window to reset 4 Open GL active (windows only)
when you select a new B track. This is useful when
Activates Open GL graphics rendering on Windows OS.
you only want to see data for the current track and
not previous tracks as to avoid any confusion. This If you are experiencing slower frame rates, try activating or
works for History graphs, Loudness and Dynamics deactivating this to get better performance
measurements.
47
 SETTINGS PANEL Metric A | B

1 Ballistics Defaults 4 Filter Bank

Set the default values for all three FFT meters (Spectrum, Edit the default settings for the filter bank and filter slope.
Correlation and Stereo Pan. Please note, this does not edit the current settings. You can
Click Factory Defaults to restore the factory default values. edit the current settings for the filter button presets and save
them as defaults by right-clicking then preset button and
You can also set the defaults on the analysis panel by right- selecting Save as default.
click on any of the ballistics values and selecting Save
Ballistics as Default from the menu.
1 2
2 FFT settings

Selects the Current settings for the FFT window

and the Multi-band mode.
You can save the current settings as the TC
defaults by clicking Save FFT defaults
or Save Multi-Band Defaults.
3
Click the Factory Defaults button underneath
each group to restore the factory settings.

3 Close
Closes the Settings window. You can also use
the Settings Icon button on the analysis menu
to close the window.
4

Defaults inc. Ballistics, FFT etc require a relaunch to take effect 48

THE ULTIMATE MIX REFERENCE AND ANALYSIS PLUGIN

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