How do I figure out which transients are "safe"?

[Dustin Moore]

Hi all. This is a newbie question and I know it's not safe to mix to
levels but this is what I've got for the moment.

I'm trying to figure out levels for an event DVD that involves fireworks
booms plus music. I have two tracks, one is "safe" and easy to listen
to with a dialnorm of -22db and another "high-dynamic range" one that
has a dialnorm of -30db.

In both tracks the music RMS power is about +1db above dialnorm and
the peaks of the fireworks are at -0.1dBFs in both tracks. The "safe" track
is equivalent to mixes I've made in the past that I have a good track record
with and that the customer(s) like.

The high range track is new though and I'm worried that someone will damage
their speakers with it. I listen to the mix uncalibrated (sorry) through cheap
Rokit RP-8s and thank's to the limiters in Ozone I've been able to make it very
punchy.

I'm not going to damage the RP-8s when I listen to the mix at a comfortably
high level but is this safe when someone accidentally hits the audio button
on their DVD remote?

How do you know if a mix has transients that are too hot to send to the public
even with a warning label on them?

[Big Andy]

I'm confused by "safe". It's reminiscent of Ali G.

There is a Sticky in this forum that covers appropriate Mix levels, you should read that. It will tell you all you need to know about the "volume" your mixes should leave your studio at.

EX: There are many ways to get things to sound and feel loud, without actually turning your meters red. One example: First, you should be mixing the FireWorks down to say, -10dB peak. Then work with a compressor and hit it with a 4:1 compression and play with the attack to get a good punchiness, then follow it up with makeup gain. TaDaa! It sounds loud but isn't, "unsafe".

When mixing effects: it is easier to start at a lower volume and mix sound up to a louder volume than the other way around. If you start loud, you are likely to stay to loud.