Loudness Standards and True Peak
Measuring loudness with LUFS and true peak so a master can be loud enough without clipping after encoding.
Related
Loudness is not peak level. A waveform that looks full may not sound loud, while lower peaks can feel more forceful.
The problem
Mastering with a peak meter alone pushes every track toward 0 dBFS, only for MP3 or AAC encoding to clip. Comparing RMS can ignore quiet passages while the overall level still jumps.
Goals and standards
Measure integrated LUFS for the whole track, short-term LUFS for sections, LRA for dynamic span, and true peak between samples. A common target is -14 to -9 LUFS with true peak no higher than -1 dBTP; broadcast under EBU R128 often uses -23 LUFS.
Practice
Measure the unprocessed mix and find its loudest and quietest sections. Set the limiter ceiling to -1.0 dBTP and add gain in steps of about 1 dB. Measure again and audition a lossy encode. If true peak exceeds the limit, lower the ceiling or limit less.
What to listen for
Hear whether intro, chorus and outro relate naturally, whether the low end pumps when the limiter works, and whether cymbals harden. The piano phrase below has dynamic contrast.
Common misunderstandings
LUFS is not a peak meter; equal readings do not mean equal waveforms. Nor is -14 LUFS a law, since platforms and genres differ. Sitting at 0 dBTP is not professional either; about 1 dB of margin keeps encoding clean.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- ITU-R BS.1770 与 EBU R128 的响度与真峰值定义，依公开标准文本核查，未抄文本
- 有损编码前留真峰值余量的做法，依母带交付通识核查，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.