So where is the selection to make an audio vu meter visible on the lcd? please and thank you.

Some one described touch screen menus as "down the menu rabbit hole"... totally true.

Since there are CX550 discussions in this sub-form I posted here

There are no vu meters on the CX550, and no provision for manual control of audio :(

A neat audio feature on the cx550v is the ability to turn the sensitivity to Low while recording.
Seems to cut down on audio from the immediate vicinity of the camcorder while still picking up ambient sound. Provides for an even background noise without audio spikes from unwanted speaking right near the camera. Quite useful at sporting events. However when using a passive 3 microphone mixer or shotgun or bluetooth wireless mic on the Intelligent hotshoe, it would be nice to visually see that any audio at all is being recorded. I suppose that's what headphones are for. I'm pretty confident that audio will be recorded via the onboard mics but using other audio capture devices demands visual confirmation that the connections are functional

Just keep a pair of folding headphones in the bag - that's how I "monitor", seems to be adequate, and Sony has some that fold so they take up almost no space, yet unfold to fit securely, unlike earbuds... at least the typical "hang on your ear" type!