No, we're talking about different things - it looks like you're thinking RMS is where the volume 'seems to be' on the meter. The RMS is more like the average amplitude - if you put your input volume so that it peaks between 0 and -2 db, you're getting as much gain as you're going to before you clip the input; if you put your output volume so that it peaks between 0 and -2 db, you're leaving as little headroom as you can before you distort the whole output. If you compress and limit until your RMS is between 0 and -2 db, your mix is going to sound squished, completely lack dynamics and 'punch', and likely cause serious discomfort. The peak you see on your meter is going to be the maximum level, and RMS will be the perceived 'loudness' of a section. You don't want to waste headroom, so get your master volume as high as it will go before clipping; RMS comes into play when some things have the same peak level but one seems noticeably louder than another. Volume in Sonar is the same as volume on any audio device, and will change the gain of an audio file without changing it any other way, but when you use clippers and compressors and limiters you're changing the sound by bringing the quiet bits up to a volume similar to that of your loud bits, or lopping off the tops of the loud bits and raising everything else up so that it's in the same area, or something like that.
Running your gear so that it's near 0db but not clipping is fine. You should probably read into RMS on Wikipedia or one of those physics-made-easy sites if it doesn't make sense.
Jeff
Running your gear so that it's near 0db but not clipping is fine. You should probably read into RMS on Wikipedia or one of those physics-made-easy sites if it doesn't make sense.
Jeff
Ive took every limiter off every channel and put that G clip on the master with only a c4 and it does whack the volume up...however what people are saying seems to be much more than just putting that on a master and cranking it.
That's why it took me ages to upgrade! 
