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It is generally accepted among professionals that the ideal recording input level is 0dBu and therefore, when recording a source one wants one's meters to average around that level. The problem for most beginners is that they believe (and it's a reasonable belief to have on the face of things) that 0dBu is the same as 0dBFS, i.e. the top of their digital meter in their DAW. They often presume that as long as the 'clip' lights aren't illuminated that they have avoided distortion.
In fact, depending upon the manufacturer's choice of protocol, the '0' on the DAW's meter is equivalent to anything from +18 to +24dBu. In other words, when one's monitoring the input level on the DAW's meter it should be averaging around the -18 to -24dBFS mark. Occasional transients of no higher than -12dBFS should be fine but average levels around this level are pushing it in terms of distortion.
So how does one know what your average input levels are when most typical DAW meters register peak levels? Well, one can download Sonalksis FreeG and strap it across the input channel to see both peak and RMS meter readings.
But now one thinks that the level sounds too quiet! This is why one needs a good monitoring set up, which starts with the room (size, shape, acoustic treatment, etc.) and includes good amplifer(s) and speakers/monitors. If you want to hear it louder, turn up the volume control on your monitoring system and/or learn to mix at quieter levels.