Limiter affecting sound in Logic?

[atticmike]

Howdy fellas,

 

I've risen from the dead and savage you with a rather simple question:

 

Does Logic's limiter affect the sound leaving output 1-2 if it's not touching the threshold?

 

Mike

[fusbur]

Nothing is being compressed / limited if it doesn't cross the threshold. In terms of the plug-in colouring the sound, I would say no.

[Matt Mayfield]

As Fusbur says, normally no, it does not affect the sound.

 

There are a few things that might sometimes, though:

 

- If the signal is close to, but not at, the threshold and there is "soft limiting"

- If Lookahead is > 0ms, then it will add latency

- If any Gain settings are not 0.0dB, they will affect the level

[EdgarRothermich]

Theoretically, if you put any plugin into the signal chain, then there is is additional code involve in the calculation, even that code decides "don't do anything".

So theoretically it is different, will you hear it - NO

[Holger Lagerfeldt]

That's not true, fortunately. A plug-in can simply pass the signal on, untouched. Not all do, but they certainly can, and it's easy to confirm with a null test.

[EdgarRothermich]

That's not true, fortunately. A plug-in can simply pass the signal on, untouched. Not all do, but they certainly can, and it's easy to confirm with a null test.

 

I'm talking about 1s 0s. If a digital signal is passed thtough a code of 1,000,000 lines and another one is passed through code with 1,000,001 lines then result is "theoretically" different. But you are right, you can't see or hear a difference and that's what is important.

[Jope]

That's not true, fortunately. A plug-in can simply pass the signal on, untouched. Not all do, but they certainly can, and it's easy to confirm with a null test.

 

I'm talking about 1s 0s. If a digital signal is passed thtough a code of 1,000,000 lines and another one is passed through code with 1,000,001 lines then result is "theoretically" different. But you are right, you can't see or hear a difference and that's what is important.

 

Not theoretically different, but somewhat delayed. But that's what buffers are for - any differences between delays caused by more or less complex calculations are - at the end - replaced by an even longer, but constant delay when the buffer is being read.