Why is it good for program peaks to register above -6db on the meters?
Each bit of a 16 bit recording gives you 6dB of dynamic range, for a theoretical total of 96dB. If your recording never peaks above the -6dB level, you are essentially “throwing away” one bit of potential dynamic range. Then you have a 15 bit recording, since, unlike analog, there is a hard limit to how small of a signal can be stored. Once you get to -96, the signal is gone. (This assumes that you are not using noise-shaping or other techniques that work to increase apparent dynamic range…) In the real world, even if your levels peak at zero, the noise floor of your console and the recording space itself will probably limit dynamic range to 70 or 80 dB. The upside of this situation is that the small level of hiss and hum works like a dither signal, and the human ear is remarkably good at picking signals out of a noise floor. (Think of following a conversation at a loud party. Microphones fail miserably, but human ears do it easily…) Summary: your console is providing dither noise,
