What Is True Peak? Why Your Track Distorts on Streaming Platforms

True Peak (dBTP) is the maximum signal level once you account for inter-sample peaks — the moments between digital samples where the reconstructed analog waveform can rise higher than any individual sample value shows. A standard peak meter only reads levels at the sample points; it has no way of seeing what happens in between.

A quick example

Sample peak:     -0.5 dBFS (at the sample points)
True Peak:        +0.3 dBTP (between the sample points)

A signal that looks perfectly safe on a normal peak meter can still clip during digital-to-analog conversion or when it's re-encoded to a lossy format.

Why this matters for streaming platforms

Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube

All major streaming platforms apply loudness normalization:
- Spotify normalizes to around −14 LUFS
- Apple Music normalizes to around −16 LUFS
- YouTube normalizes to around −14 LUFS

Normalization can raise a track's playback gain. If your True Peak is above −1 dBTP going in, that headroom disappears the moment the platform turns the level up — and the result is clipping.

What happens when a track clips

• Distortion — audible crackle and harsh digital clipping
• Quality loss — especially noticeable on headphones
• Encoding artifacts — compounded when the file is compressed to Ogg Vorbis (Spotify) or AAC (Apple Music)

How to measure True Peak

In your DAW

Most modern DAWs include a True Peak meter:
- Logic Pro: Metering → Loudness Meter
- Ableton Live: dedicated metering plugin
- FL Studio: dBTP meter inside Edison

Online, for free

The Magic Master LUFS Analyzer measures both LUFS and True Peak instantly in your browser: magicmaster.pro/tools/lufs-analyzer

True Peak recommendations by platform

Platform	Max True Peak	Target LUFS
Spotify	−1.0 dBTP	−14 LUFS
Apple Music	−1.0 dBTP	−16 LUFS
YouTube	−1.0 dBTP	−14 LUFS
CD / Vinyl	−0.3 dBTP	−14 LUFS
Podcasts	−1.0 dBTP	−16 LUFS

How to set up a limiter correctly

1. Set the ceiling

Ceiling = -1.0 dBTP (for streaming)
Ceiling = -0.3 dBTP (for CD)

2. Dial in the threshold

The threshold determines how much of the signal gets compressed:
- −2 dB — aggressive limiting (loud, but sacrifices dynamics)
- −6 dB — moderate limiting (a balance of loudness and dynamics)
- −10 dB — gentle limiting (maximum dynamic range preserved)

3. Attack and release

• Attack 0.5–1 ms — fast enough to catch peaks reliably
• Release 50–100 ms — quick enough to stay transparent

4. Look-ahead

Enable look-ahead (1–6 ms) so the limiter can anticipate peaks before they happen. This adds a small amount of latency but noticeably improves limiting quality.

Limiter algorithms in Magic Master

Magic Master offers five limiter algorithms:

Algorithm	Character	Best for
Brickwall	Hard clipper	Maximum loudness
Soft Knee	Gentle knee	Neutral processing
Lookahead	Predicts peaks	Transparent limiting
Transient Aware	Preserves attacks	Drums, percussion
IRC Smooth	Intelligent control	Maximum transparency

Before and after: a practical example

Before (no True Peak control)

Integrated LUFS: -10.2 LUFS
True Peak: +1.2 dBTP  ← CLIPPING!
LRA: 4.2 LU

After (with a True Peak limiter)

Integrated LUFS: -10.1 LUFS
True Peak: -1.0 dBTP  ← Safe
LRA: 4.1 LU

The loudness difference is negligible, but the clipping is eliminated entirely.

Common mistakes

1. Relying only on a sample peak meter

Your peak meter reads −0.5 dBFS, but True Peak might actually be +0.5 dBTP. Always check a dedicated True Peak meter before you export.

2. Limiting too aggressively

A −10 dB threshold combined with a −0.3 dB ceiling makes the limiter work overtime, producing audible pumping and distortion artifacts.

3. Ignoring what encoding does to peaks

MP3, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis encoding can all raise peak values slightly. Always leave 1–2 dB of extra headroom as a safety margin.

How Magic Master solves True Peak automatically

1. 4x oversampling for accurate True Peak measurement per ITU-R BS.1770-5
2. Look-ahead brickwall limiter with full control over inter-sample peaks
3. Automatic −1.0 dBTP ceiling built into every streaming preset
4. Final verification check before export

This is part of why AI mastering with Magic Master reliably passes platform loudness checks for Spotify, pop, EDM, hip-hop, and podcast presets alike — the True Peak ceiling is enforced automatically no matter which genre you choose. To understand how True Peak relates to integrated loudness, read our companion piece on what LUFS is and why it matters, or check the full LUFS target table for every streaming platform.

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Check your track's True Peak for free: magicmaster.pro/tools/lufs-analyzer