Integrated loudness
Integrated loudness is one figure for the whole file, in LUFS, measured to ITU‑R BS.1770‑4, gating included: the standard throws out silence and quiet passages before averaging, which is why a proper reading and a naive average of a file are different numbers. It is the figure streaming services normalise playback against.
Loudness is negative. −9.4 LUFS is louder than −14 LUFS. New to the unit? What LUFS is, and why it's negative →
Everything around it
On a Mac, DropWave shows the rest of what a mastering engineer checks, on a ruler marked with the −14 LUFS streaming level and the −1 dBTP ceiling:
| Reading | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Loudness range (LRA) | How far the loudness moves between the quiet and loud parts |
| Short-term max | The loudest few seconds |
| Momentary max | The loudest instant |
| PLR | Peak to loudness ratio: how much the peaks stand above the loudness |
| Sample peak | The highest sample value, beside true peak |
| Stereo correlation | How the two channels relate; low or negative is worth a listen in mono |
| Loudness over time | The whole file as a curve, so you see where it's loud |
What streaming does to it
Beside the readings, DropWave shows what Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, Tidal and Deezer will do to the level, and how many dB each one turns it down.
The delivery check
Every file is checked against a spec: Streaming master by default (44.1 kHz or more, lossless 16 or 24-bit, true peak at or under −1 dBTP, no clipping, no long silence at either end). Change it in Settings → Delivery. In the table, the Range, Format and Delivery columns show it for every file, and File → Export PDF Report… (⇧⌘E) writes a report of one file or the list.
Comparing by ear
Match loudness (⌥⌘L) plays every file at the same level, so you compare the music and not the volume.
Reading it
| Context | Roughly |
|---|---|
| Streaming normalisation | commonly cited around −14 LUFS |
| Modern club and electronic masters | frequently −8 to −6 LUFS |
| Broadcast (EBU R 128) | −23 LUFS |
| An unmastered mix | anywhere, often −18 or quieter |
None of these are rules. A loud master is not wrong — it will simply be turned down by anything that normalises, and the only thing the extra loudness bought you is less dynamic range at the same playback level.
What it is not
- Not a quality score. It is a measurement.
- Not a live meter. DropWave reads finished files. For live loudness in your DAW, DropWave Editor's Master view meters as it plays.
- On Windows, DropWave has every reading above, streaming and the delivery check too; only PDF reports are on the Mac for now.
When there is no number
Loudness is undefined for material too short to measure and for a file of pure silence. In those cases DropWave shows nothing rather than inventing a figure.
Related
What is LUFS? — the unit itself, explained · True peak — the other half of the pre-upload check · For mixing and mastering