Korg Forums

The master meters do work as expected - but by design they won't start moving until you get to at least about -20dBFS (which then probably equates to about 0dBu).
So to see them properly bobbing about you will be not far off clipping.

I expect Korg will change the sensitivity so that 0 on the needle meters equates to -20dBFS - but then you will get clip lights when you aren't really near clipping (but people will feel better because their needles are moving about).

It's actually probably better to keep them as they are, because then at least when you are running the full 8 tracks you'll get a better feel for when you really are getting near 0dBFS.
So you should aim for your needles to just start tickling slightly....(if you want about 20dB of headroom).

Yes. I believe what you just said is essentially what I have been saying all along. In order to get the needles moving, we must push this mixer harder than we are used to. (ie Master volume at full and channel gains cranked up high)

My point is just that this is not how most high-end mixers operate. Try playing on any Allen & Heath mixer, and you'll see. A&H sets the standard for high-end DJ mixers, especially for sound quality. So they know what they're doing.

But the other problem is that the output from the Master on the Korg is supposed to be +4 dBu. But if I leave the input sensitivity on my powered monitors at unity (which is equal to +4 dBu), then the signal will be WAY too loud if running the Korg as described above. And the background hiss is too loud if I leave my monitors at unity.

Yeah I don't undestand, first why each track meter is from 0 to 10 and not
In DB (0db max), nonsense.

then when I ouptut a 0db signal from computer via firewire, channel gain defaut set up, It would be normal to access 0db in output at i/e master volume around 3/4 or less, like All mixers. This is very strange, this unit has no gain or level meters are not calibrated. try to put only one track you know it's 0db numerical, It won't output 0db, even with master level
at max.

If i try to re-route that 0db track back to computer with I/O, I can see in computer it has a very low output (-15db!!!!) that's not normal, the input/output should remain the same, instead of that we have to gain up with all inconvenience (noize up, sound quality decrease...)

Ive tried mackie/behringer/allen/ecler unit, no one was working like that,
It's really a conception pb.

I wonder if Korg did very much consulting with professional DJs when designing this thing? If they did consult DJs, they probably picked really bad ones who lack the technical knowledge to be of any real help.

The fact that the master and headphone busses are not routable through the sound card is just one example of where consultation with a serious Ableton Live user would have been helpful.

In terms of the digital gain structure - everything works as it should do on the Zero 8.
The way you might be used to running an analog mixer doesn't quite apply here.
You have to remember that the absolute stopping point of digital audio is 0dBFS (by definition).

On an analog mixer everyone is used to aiming for the magic 0dB on their master meters and you still have something like 20dB headroom available.

Therefore on a digital mixer it is generally set up so that 0dBu equates to something like -20dBFS (as I mentioned before).
Now, add in to the equation that you have 8 channels whereby you can add more audio into the chain and increase the overall signal level (which is generally about 3dB for every doubling of track count assuming the sources are not the same - mixing identical tracks will give a 6dB increase for every doubling of track count).

So you can see that your single channel 'at unity' on the Zero 8 needs to be sitting somewhere at least -15dBFS, so that you have room to add another 7 dissimilar tracks. You shouldn't have to run 24-bit digital audio super close to 0dBFS to maintain your distance from the noise floor in theory.

So the main concern is that you really don't get near 0dBFS - which is the purpose of the VU meters (in the absence of any other master metering).

Now, whether this was the best choice of master metering for this type of mixer is another question (looks pretty though!). Korg also haven't done themselves any favours by writing such a poor manual - which they should really use as an opportunity to explain the way the mixer works properly.
My experience of Korg has been they go for cool features rather than rigorous technical explanation of how it should work!

My Zero 8 is a review model, and I'm having plenty of trouble with the Firewire drivers. Also, the comment about having a master / cue Firewire link point is quite valid (though presumably Korg didn't initially envisage it would be used like this?).

I can definitely see how you would find these things a bit of a disappointment, but overall I think that it's not too bad of a mixer (though the firewire issues are a show stopper for me and my laptop at the moment).
It's not a cheap mixer, but you do get quite a bit for your money.

Just trying to play devils advocate a bit.