"4 of these meters (8 channels) fit into a 4U 19" space"
"VU's are brilliant for gauging the overall loudness of an audio signal"
Crookwood Products: VU Meters
The igloo VU meter is a dual Sifam VU meter and attenuator we use with our consoles. It's available as a separate part however for any studio that needs precision VU meters.
The dual VU panel showing the meter attenuator.
Downloads 
- igloo VU Sales Flyer (PDF 81K)
- igloo VU Picture (JPG 330K)
All About the Meters
The igloo meter panel is a cost effective dual VU meter with a precision meter attenuator.
It's part of our igloo range - the most powerful and flexible monitor/ routers available, and uses large precision Sifam VU meters. In addition there is an accurate passive meter attenuator, so you can get an accurate VU movement no matter how hot the signal you're metering.
The meter is 4U high and 1/4 of a 19" space. It can be mounted into studio furniture, or into a 19" panel. XLR connections on the rear allow for easy audio connection.
Key Features
Meters
- Two large (72x31mm visible) accurate Sifam VU meters are used.
- The meters are flush mounted, so only the movement is visible, giving a classy look.
- Each meter is marked with it's channel ident for easy reference (e.g. L, R, C, LFE, LS, RS, LE, RE).
Attenuator
- A dual, precision, balanced, passive attenuator reduces the signal level to the meters to let you use hot signals, making the meter's useful up to a 0dBFs of +22dBu.
- The attenuator is passive, so no power is required for the meter to work.
- The attenuator accurately reduces the level to the VU's in calibrated steps of 3dB from 0dB to -15dB. At the same time it preserves the loading impedance of the VU, so it's movement is accurate despite the attenuation.
Options
- 19" Mounting Kit. Up to 4 VU panel can be mounted into a 4U 19" rack unit. As well as VU's, the mounting kit can hold other panels from the igloo range.
Technology
Accurate Metering is essential for making good music. Peak meters are great for detecting maximum levels, but averaging meters, like VU's are great for judging the relative loudness of a signal. By connecting these mechanical analogue VU's across your calibrated master monitor DA, you'll get a good feel for the loudness of the signal compared to other material.
There are however 2 problems: Meter overload and Absolute Reference.
Meter Overload
VU's were designed for handling signals around +10dBu peak. However most DA's are calibrated to 0dBfs being about +18 or +22dBu. If you connect a normal VU across this, the needle will slam to full scale, and the meter becomes useless. To overcome this, we've added a switchable attenuator, so no matter what your 0dBFs level, you can make the meter work properly, without overloading. The levels shown are absolute to within 0.1dB, and they keep the VU terminated properly, no matter what attenuation is.
Absolute Reference
Unfortunately the term VU is rather abused. The VU spec is actually very well defined, and although nearly all VU's will show the same level with a constant test signal, when you get a real musical signal, different VU's will show different levels. The answer is to use a real VU meter rather than a $5 clone with VU written on it. The Sifam meters we use are very well specified, and consequently very expensive. They do however tell the truth, which is why you want the meter in the first place. Isn't it?
Specifications
Meters
- Type: VU to BS6840:part 17 1991 & IEC268-17:1990, apart from attack time which is slightly over compensated.
- Attenuator: Balanced 0dB to -15dB switched attenuation in 3dB steps. Constant impedance (3600 ohms) to VU meters.
- Max input level: +22dBu RMS for +3VU, +19dBu RMS for 0VU.
Mechanical
- Weight 0.25Kg
- Dimensions. 17.3Hx10.6Wx8D cm
- Input Connectors: Balanced audio on female XLRs.
Prices
The GBP £ prices below, are the retail price, ex VAT, FOB Crookwood. Please note that the price you pay from a dealer may be different due to carriage costs, import duties, local taxes and currency conversions. The dollar and euro prices are for information only: you should check with a dealer or with current currency rates for an accurate figure:
| Product | Price £ | Price $ | Price € |
| igloo Dual VU meter | £295 | $600 | €450 |
| Options | Price £ | Price $ | Price € |
| 19" Mounting kit | £95 | $180 | €150 |
FAQ
Can I meter multichannel signals?
Yes. Just use 3 panels to meter a 5.1 mix, 4 panels for a 7.1 And so on.
Do I need a different attenuation for the LFE meter?
No. The LFE signal is encoded at -10dB ref the other channels, but is mixed at the same level as the other channels.
Do the meters have backlights?
No. The meters are large enough, and have enough contrast, so they don't need backlights in normal circumstances. The great advantage is that you don't need supply power to the meters to make them work.