The Pointlessness of VU Meters in Amplifiers 2 Channel
Reply
Member 348 posts Hear Here Member 348 posts
Hear Here
OK, we've had our says on the usefulness / pointlessness of LED screens on streamers and enjoyed a chuckle at some of the replies, so let's look at what seems to be totally and irredeemably pointless - VU meters in amplifiers.
 
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but VU meters were originally used in domestic reel-to-reel tape recorders as an indication of signal level while recording, so that over-loading could be avoided. "Occasional excursions into the red" was the advice for adjusting the recording level knob. Distortion was likely if this level was exceeded, as the magnetic tape could only handle a certain level and these meters had a genuinely worthwhile purpose.  
 
Why, oh why, does anyone need (I'm sure no one will claim they’re a necessity), or even want these meters on amplifiers? There is no danger of introducing distortion - as per their original purpose. And how much extra does it cost to include these meters?
 
Is it that people just enjoy the distraction of these flickering indicators, or is there some more worthwhile use? If it’s just for decoration, why not put a nice ever-changing Lava Lamp on one’s equipment rack, or leave the TV on mute during Coronation Street? Far more entertaining and equally distracting!  
 
Many people turn off all the distracting lights and indicators on their equipment front panels (or they close their eyes) in order to enjoy the musical experience to maximum effect.  How can meters enhance the listening experience? I'm bewildered, but I feel sure there will be lots of very valid reasons for having meters in amplifiers - or maybe not! 😉
Source - NAD M50.2 - CD Player, CD Ripper, Hard Drive file store, Streamer
Amplification - NAD M33 - All-in-one Streamer, DAC, Pre and Power Amp, Atma-Sphere Class D mono power amps
Speakers - Avantgarde Duo XD with modified supports
Reply 1 0
Sal paradise Member 556 posts
Sal paradise
Cos they look cool 😎
 
I even like VU meters on guitar pedals…
[IMG-2715]
Reply 7 0
Blacksabbath Member 2,208 posts
Blacksabbath
How good you ! knock VUs what's the world coming too 😂😂 But i like them i have mine showing me the range in the peaks and they give the retro feeling and its better then looking at a plain amp with no tone controls .
 
P.S hopefully the Luxman owners will be along in a minute  
Yamaha A-S3000 , Yamaha CD2100 , Dali Epicon 6s 
Reply 1 0
DM Member 632 posts
DM
Totally useless, irritating and an excuse to charge more.
 
I exclude Nagra because I am Swiss and valve amplifiers who's VU meters double to check bias.
Reply 1 0
Martin Macca Member 2,288 posts
Martin Macca
They're not entirely useless, they will indicate if the amp runs into clipping. Which is worth knowing about.
 
But mainly they look cool.
 
We're really in two camps with the people who don't want anything at all visible even the speakers if that's possible at one extreme and the people who think a hi-fi system should light up like a control panel on the Starship Enterprise at the other extreme.
 
It's all horses for courses.
Reply 5 0
Hiesteem Member 806 posts
Hiesteem
Two reasons, obviously it sounds better
And if you don't see the vu clipping then
Obviously it needs turning up!Screenshot_2026-04-27-16-31-31-02_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg
Reply 5 0
Rabski Moderator 2,766 posts
Rabski
Totally pointless. Usually look fabulous. In other words, worthwhile.
 
I actually don't have any meters at all in the system at the moment, so I need to do something about that 😁
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools
Reply 5 0
Tim (AKA timster) TJC Member 6,471 posts
Tim (AKA timster) TJC
Totally pointless. Usually look fabulous. In other words, worthwhile.
 
I actually don't have any meters at all in the system at the moment, so I need to do something about that 😁
That's pretty much the only reason I chose the Eversolo DAC-Z8! Looks so pretty 😍
"I'd rather lead a life than follow one around" Carrie Fisher
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures" Daniel Webster
"I know my own mind…The trouble is, my mind changes and then I have to get acquainted with it all over again" Lucy Montgomery
 
♫♫ Linn/Kudos - See Profile for Full Kit ♫♫
Reply 4 0
Pressure Member 195 posts
Pressure
At the last WAM show, that little room with the gigantic horn boxes had a chunky old amp that had VU meters on it so you could see for real just how few watts were being used to drive those humongous speakers, and just how much headroom there was in the system.

It sounded so good - as I recall, everyone was in awe - that it conferred virtue on every component, including the VU meters.
 
Good enough for me.
Main source: MacBook Pro [iTunes, Tidal] > Focusrite Clarett
Main amp and speakers: Rega Elicit > Dali Oberon 5
Vinyl: Technics SL1210 > Ortofon 2M Blue  > ifi Zen
Secondary monitors: Genelec 8331s
Reply 2 0
Julian Waring Bigrod Member 2,480 posts
Julian Waring Bigrod
I love VU meters .
I can change their colour on my Vincent 332 hybrid power amp .. Even though it’s in a cupboard and you can’t see them.
Go figure that out ….
You must love everyone but you don’t have to like everyone
Reply 3 0
savvypaul Trade Member 3,424 posts
savvypaul
I'm only interested if they go up to 11.
Reply 1 0
Reply