Platform targets
Every target LoudSense checks against — podcasts, music streaming, broadcast and live PA — with the numbers and what each platform does when you miss them.
On this page
LoudSense compares the file's integrated loudness (LUFS-I) and true peak with the numbers below. They are the same table RoomSense's LUFS tab shows; a test in the codebase keeps the two identical.
Podcast
| Target | Integrated | True peak | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Podcasts | −16 LUFS ±1 | ≤ −1 dBTP | Apple's published spec |
| Spotify (podcast) | −19 to −16 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | Spotify normalises podcasts to this window |
| Podcast (general) | −19 to −16 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | A safe window for every directory |
Audiobook
| Target | RMS | Peak | Noise floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audible / ACX | −23 to −18 dB | ≤ −3 dBFS | ≤ −60 dB RMS |
ACX measures RMS, not LUFS. LoudSense checks the noise floor first — a noisy recording fails regardless of level — then the RMS window, then the peak ceiling.
Music streaming
| Target | Integrated | True peak | What happens when you miss it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | Louder is turned down; quieter is raised only in "Loud" mode, with a limiter |
| YouTube | −14 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | Louder is turned down; quieter is left as is |
| Amazon HD | −14 LUFS | ≤ −2 dBTP | |
| Tidal | −14 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | |
| Apple Music | −16 LUFS | ≤ −1 dBTP | Sound Check aims for −16 |
| Streaming (generic) | −14 LUFS | — | When you do not know where it will go |
| SoundCloud | — | keep under 0 dBTP | No normalisation: plays exactly as uploaded |
| Bandcamp | — | keep under 0 dBTP | No normalisation: plays exactly as uploaded |
Broadcast
| Target | Integrated | True peak |
|---|---|---|
| EBU R128 | −23 LUFS ±1 | ≤ −1 dBTP |
| ATSC A/85 (US) | −24 LKFS ±2 | ≤ −2 dBTP |
European and US broadcast delivery. Most stations also cap short-term loudness; check the station's spec.
Live / PA
| Target | Integrated | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Club PA | −9 to −6 LUFS | A hot playback file for a club system |
| Festival PA | −6 to −3 LUFS | Walk-in and playback on a festival rig |
These are ranges for files that will be played back through a system — DJ edits, interval music, intro tapes — not for streaming.
Mine — your own targets
Under the verdict rows in the Verdict tab, My targets takes a name, a LUFS value, a tolerance and an optional true-peak ceiling: a station's delivery spec, a client's house rule, a festival's playback level. Saved targets get a Mine tab and a verdict row like any platform, appear in the Fix it menu, and are kept in this browser. Signed in, they sync to your account and follow you to another device.
How the verdict is decided
- If LUFS-I is above the window: Too loud, fix = lower by the distance to the target.
- If LUFS-I is below the window: Too quiet, fix = raise by the distance; if that would push true peak over the ceiling, the fix adds "with a true-peak limiter at the ceiling".
- If loudness is inside the window but true peak is above the ceiling: Peaks too hot, fix = limit to the ceiling.
- Otherwise OK.
Services without normalisation (SoundCloud, Bandcamp) show an information row instead: the file will play at exactly the loudness it has, so only the true peak matters there.
What is deliberately missing
TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts and most social platforms publish no loudness spec. LoudSense does not invent one; aim for the YouTube target and keep true peak under −1 dBTP, and the result will survive their encoders.
A target with a tolerance (±1) or a range counts anything inside it as OK; the fix aims for the middle of a range.
Platform specs change. If a number here is out of date, write to support@squaresmile.de with the source and we update the table.
Thanks for the feedback.