If I'm recording digital audio on, say, a computer, whether I'm using a built-in line input jack or some fancy audio interface (assume I'm talking about post-gain amplification in the interface if it has got a gain adjustment), is there a standard range of input voltages that correspond to the minimum and maximum recorded values?
For example, if I record two signals that are both flat lines, one at the minimum value (e.g. 0 for 8-bit unsigned audio) and one at the max (e.g. 255 for 8-bit unsigned audio), and I assume there's no clipping, can I say what the input voltages were for those two signals on any reasonable audio recording interface (with the understanding that if there's a gain adjustment on the interface, this of course complicates things)?
A more subtle way of asking at least part of this question is: If I give the same audio signal to multiple different recording devices (all with the same input impedance) at unity gain, can I expect the same levels in the resulting digital recordings across all those devices? Assuming they are reasonable recording devices.
Then the other part of this question could be rephrased as: If I can expect the same levels between multiple devices, is there an industry-accepted voltage range for line level inputs where I'd expect to be able to record without clipping the results?
