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Peak Monitor

Peak Monitor shows how close each channel is getting to clipping (the signal exceeds the available digital range and creates audible distortion), so you can set Maximum Digital Headroom by measurement instead of by ear. It does not measure RMS level or analog output voltage and does not determine Reference Output Voltage which is configured separately in Volume Setup.

Peak Monitor page in Table view

Turning It On

Click Peak Monitoring to turn it on. The meters start updating live as audio plays. Click it again to turn monitoring off.

Clear Peaks resets the peak-hold markers so you can start a fresh measurement — useful when you want to check a specific scene or passage without earlier, louder peaks skewing the reading.

The selector beside Clear Peaks controls peak-marker visibility in Bars view:

  • Peak hold shows the held peak marker for each channel.
  • Over -1dBFS shows markers only for peaks at or above −1 dBFS, including clipping indications.
  • No peak hold hides the markers.

This selector changes the displayed markers, not peak measurement. Held peak values remain available in the numeric readings until cleared.

Front Panel Display

Tap the peak monitoring icon in the top-left corner of the front panel to start monitoring.

Front panel showing the Peak Monitor level and channel

While Peak Monitor is active, the bottom of the display shows the highest peak level in dBFS and the corresponding channel. The text and bar turn red if clipping is detected.

Tap the icon again to reset the measurement and stop monitoring. The front panel and web interface use the same peak measurement.

Front Panel Level Meter

The front panel also offers a Level Meter, which shows live signal activity for the active speaker channels. Unlike Peak Monitor, it displays changing levels rather than the highest peaks held since the last reset.

Press the remote's Green button to show or hide the Level Meter, or tap the front panel while the Level Meter is displayed to close it. The remote's Red button toggles Peak Monitor instead.

Front-panel Level Meter showing live activity for the active channels, including Seat Shaker

Table and Bars Views

Switch between Table and Bars with the buttons above the meters.

Table view lists each active channel with its peak signal level in dBFS. A channel is shown in red once it reaches clipping.

Peak Monitor page in Bars view

Bars view shows live channel levels as vertical meters, with a scale from +6 to −84 dBFS. Numeric readings show the highest measured peaks. When visible, peak markers are green below −1 dBFS, amber from −1 dBFS to below 0 dBFS, and red at or above 0 dBFS.

Very brief transients may be missed by the meters.

If you have a seat shaker channel active, it appears alongside the speaker channels, set apart by a divider and its own icon.

Setting the Controls

Peak Monitor is most useful for setting Maximum Digital Headroom.

  1. With Peak Monitor running and your loudest program material playing, lower Maximum Digital Headroom until clipping first appears.
  2. Increase Maximum Digital Headroom step by step until the peaks stay below clipping.
  3. Recheck at your normal loudest listening level and adjust again if needed.

Peak Monitor is a peak-level measurement, not an RMS measurement.

If a Channel Clips

Clipping means the digital signal ran out of headroom and was cut off — you'll hear it as distortion on loud passages. Ideally no signal should clip, that is, peak above 0 dB. If Peak Monitor shows a channel clipping:

  • Increase Maximum Digital Headroom until no further peaks occur

The control is on Volume Setup. Play your loudest material while watching the meters, and adjust until peaks land close to 0 dBFS without crossing it.

Peak Monitor and Seat Shaker

The XLR outputs combine analog and digital volume control. Full configured digital headroom is retained only up to Highest playback volume that preserves digital headroom in Volume Setup; above it, the reserve decreases. Volume-dependent processing such as Loudness can affect peak readings.

For Seat Shaker on Mix Out RCA, check digital clipping at the loudest master-volume level you plan to use. Peak Monitor does not detect analog output-stage clipping.

Hearing safety

Mute all speakers on Calibration before setting headroom for the Seat Shaker RCA outputs.