Hi Tim

> like 'dBm', 'dBV', 'dBv', 'dBu', 'VU' and 'line level' etc., and you

You can simply avoid this stuff, by using an oscilloscope. Meters are nice,
but of no worth compared to a two channel scope, which is used to compare
the signal before and after any audio processing stage (not to mention,
that most times your ears will be the best measurement equipment you can
find...).

Florian