Manuals · LoudMeter

LoudMeter manual.

A loudness analysis tool — momentary, short-term and integrated loudness, true peak, loudness range, a full history graph and a spectrum view with tonal-balance targets.

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What LoudMeter does

LoudMeter is a measurement instrument, not an audio processor. It measures everything on your stereo bus — loudness, dynamics and spectrum — and leaves your audio untouched. It follows the ITU-R BS.1770-5 standard for loudness and true peak, EBU Tech 3342 for loudness range, and adds a spectrum view with reference tonal-balance targets.

LoudMeter is read-only: it contributes no effect, no colour and no latency to your audio path.

LoudMeter is free to download and use on macOS — no account, no trial, no subscription.

The two views

Use the LOUDNESS | SPECTRUM selector at the top to switch the centre area. The metrics panel on the right stays visible in both views.

  • LOUDNESS — the big history graph showing momentary, short-term and integrated loudness over time, with a legend in the top-right corner.
  • SPECTRUM — the live FFT curve with a mini history strip along the bottom.

The metrics panel

The right panel shows the key numbers of your session, updated in real time. Values read "--" until there is enough signal or history.

  • SHORT TERM (LUFS) — the last three seconds of loudness.
  • INTEGRATED (LUFS) — the gated average of the whole session; the highlighted verdict cell.
  • LOUDNESS RANGE (LU) — the dynamic spread of the material, P95 minus P10 per EBU Tech 3342.
  • REALTIME DYNAMICS (LU) — Short Term minus Integrated: how much the current moment departs from the session average.
  • AVG. DYNAMICS (PLR) (LU) — True Peak minus Integrated, the standard "ceiling-to-body" measure.
  • MOMENTARY MAX (LUFS) — loudest 400 ms moment of the session.
  • SHORT TERM MAX (LUFS) — loudest three-second moment.
  • TRUE PEAK MAX (dBTP) — the loudest true peak measured with 4× oversampling.

When a metering preset is active, the True Peak Max turns red the moment it exceeds the preset's ceiling — LoudMeter's alarm.

The loudness history graph

The main graph scrolls the last 60 seconds of your session on a fixed −40 to +6 LUFS scale.

  • Momentary — a faint cyan trace of the 400 ms loudness.
  • Short-term — the bright cyan trace of the three-second loudness, with a gradient fill.
  • Integrated — the amber trace of the gated session average.
  • Regions excluded from the integrated average by the loudness gate are dimmed, so you can see what the number is actually built from.
  • With a preset selected, a thin cyan line marks the target loudness with its value labelled on the left edge.

The spectrum view

  • FILL — toggle the gradient fill under the spectrum curve (on by default).
  • HOLD — keep a faint peak-hold envelope; it starts from the current curve and clears when you pick a target genre.
  • TARGETS — a visual reference overlay with eight genres: Rock, Electronic (Vocal), Pop, Hip-Hop, Metal, Latin, Jazz and Classical. Once selected, the spectrum is normalised against the genre's average balance in relative dB and drawn over the genre's P10–P90 band. This is an analysis aid only — it changes nothing in your audio.

The genre curves come from the tonal-balance data behind SELANCE — six bands measured against hundreds of commercial masters.

Metering presets

The PRESETS button sets a reference target for the loudness value and a ceiling for true peak, useful when matching a streaming or broadcast loudness spec. Presets are reference-only: they never change the measurement.

  • Broadcast — EBU R128 (−23 LUFS, −1 dBTP), ATSC A/85, OP-59, ARIB TR-B32, AGCOM 219/09 and KOBETA (−24 LUFS, −2 dBTP).
  • Streaming — Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music (−16 LUFS), Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer and SoundCloud (−14 LUFS, −1 dBTP, Apple −16).

Selecting a preset draws its target line on the history graph and arms the true-peak alarm; choose Off to go back to no reference.

RESET

The RESET button clears the measurement — loudness meter, history, maxima and loudness range — so you can start a fresh session on the same insert.

Standards & specifications

  • Loudness — ITU-R BS.1770-5: momentary (400 ms), short-term (3 s) and gated integrated loudness in LUFS.
  • True peak — 4× oversampled in dBTP.
  • Loudness range — EBU Tech 3342 (LRA) in LU.
  • History — up to 12 minutes captured at 10 samples per second; the graph shows a scrolling 60-second window (30 s on the spectrum mini strip).
  • Formats — VST3, AU and AAX.
  • Channels — stereo only.