I love VU meters, but I've learned to adapt to other means to monitor gain.

One such is used in the Focusrite 6i6 and 18i8 in which the rings around the gain knobs glow with intensity, turning full green, then red as the limit is exceeded and distortion would result. I thought I would hate this, but I love it now. In the corner of my eye, I can be aware of any red without actually concentrating on looking at it.

And of course, an alternative to VU meters is the colored column of LEDs.


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.