Signal Levels
Electrically, inserts are found at a variety of signal levels. Some are -10 dB consumer line level, others are nominally -6 dB or -2 dB or 0 dB or +4 dB. Most balanced inserts are at +4 dB nominal level. Digital mixers might specify their inserts as -20 dBFS which is similar in level to +4 dBu nominal on an analog mixer, depending on the maximum headroom of the analog design. For optimum gain staging and the least amount of system hiss, inserted devices should be chosen with regard to the signal level they can handle and the signal level the mixer can handle. Best gain staging is achieved when both insert and inserted device match in level.
Read more about this topic: Insert (effects Processing)
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