VU Meter

VU Meter is an interesting application that acts like a virtual audio level meter. It imitates the volume unit meter of an old stereo, displaying volume indicators on your desktop.

The application is similar to a sidebar gadget, since its interface does not take much desktop space and you can move it around wherever you want to. It displays a real-time representation of the audio signal level for both the left and the right audio channels.

Right-clicking anywhere on the main interface reveals a menu that enables you to allow the variable maximum value, as well as reset it to 0, 20 or 40. This comes in handy when listening to audio streams that were recorded at a lower value.

By default, the meters are displayed in black and white, but you can fully customize their appearance via the 'Options' window. VU Meter enables you to change the color of every element for each meter, starting with the background and continuing with the pointing needle, the arc of the meter, major and minor lines or the displayed text.

There are various other settings that you can configure. The meters can be displayed either horizontally (side by side) or vertically (on top of each other) and the response time (the duration of a full swing across the gauge) can be changed from the default value of 300 ms to just 150 ms.

Optionally, you can instruct the application to stay on top of all the other opened windows, which enables you to overlay it on top of any audio processing program and monitor audio levels.

VU Meter is designed with simplicity in mind, aiming to accurately display the level of audio signals processed by your computer's sound card. Its clean interface makes it very easy to use, while the customization options help it blend with the desktop theme or background.