Hi Mike,
BreakawayOne should be smoothness itself!
What processing core (HD, FM etc) and which output are you using?
If you are using FM Output, without De-emphasis on, that would explain the extremely bright sound you would be hearing.
The best output to use for auditioning is the Common Monitor Output. That way you can switch between hearing different processing cores from within the program.
The Input level meter is an industry standard ITU BS.1770 loudness meter. Any level is fine (although most presets are designed to be in the green-yellow-orange section). If you overload the input, the entire meter will flash red. You can increase "Input Gain" without overloading the input.
Red bars in the multiband means peak limiting — this is normal operation.
On the input oscilloscope, you don't want to see it being pegged to the rails (square wave), but if you are playing modern music, this will pretty much always be the case. At least the input oscilloscope will let you see where the distortion is coming from, as well as to ensure you're not adding to the problem by overloading your input.
BaOne can process at either 44.1 or 48 kHz, and the FM MPX output is at 176.4 or 192 kHz.
///Leif