You set your limiter to -0.1 dB, the meter never goes red, and yet your track distorts on Spotify. How? The answer is the difference between sample peak and true peak — one of the most misunderstood concepts in mastering. This guide makes it clear.
Sample Peak: What Your Meter Usually Shows
Digital audio is made of discrete samples — individual measurements of the waveform taken tens of thousands of times per second. A sample peak meter simply reports the highest value among those samples. If your loudest sample hits -0.1 dB, your sample peak meter reads -0.1 dB.
This seems like it should tell you everything. But there is a hidden problem: the actual analog waveform does not just pass through the sample points — it curves between them.
True Peak: The Peaks Between the Samples
When your audio is converted back to an analog signal (or encoded to a lossy format), the player reconstructs the smooth waveform that passes through all the sample points. That reconstructed curve can rise higher than any individual sample — sometimes well above 0 dB. These are called inter-sample peaks.
Why This Causes Distortion on Streaming
Streaming platforms encode your uploaded file into lossy formats like AAC or Ogg Vorbis. The encoding and decoding process reconstructs the waveform, and if your true peaks exceed 0 dB, the reconstructed signal clips — producing harsh digital distortion that was not audible in your original file.
This is the trap. Your master sounds clean in your DAW because your DAW is showing sample peaks. But once it goes through the streaming encoder, those hidden inter-sample peaks turn into audible clipping.
The -1 dBTP Safe Ceiling
The industry-standard solution is to leave a true peak ceiling of -1 dBTP on your master. That one decibel of headroom absorbs the inter-sample peaks that appear after encoding, keeping your track clean on every platform.
| Platform | Recommended True Peak Ceiling |
|---|---|
| Spotify | -1 dBTP |
| Apple Music | -1 dBTP |
| YouTube | -1 dBTP |
| Amazon Music | -2 dBTP |
| Tidal | -1 dBTP |
Some engineers go as conservative as -1.5 or -2 dBTP for material with very aggressive transients. For most music, -1 dBTP is the sweet spot.
How to Control True Peak
- ▸Use a true-peak-aware limiter on your master bus — most modern limiters have a 'true peak' or 'inter-sample' mode you can enable.
- ▸Set the ceiling to -1 dBTP rather than 0 or -0.1 dB.
- ▸Do not rely on your DAW's default peak meter alone; it likely shows sample peak, not true peak.
- ▸Measure the true peak of your finished master before uploading.
Check Your True Peak
You can measure the true peak of any master directly in your browser. Drop in your file and read the dBTP value — if it is above -1 dBTP, pull your limiter ceiling down and re-export. It is the easiest way to guarantee your track survives streaming encoding intact.
Final Thoughts
Sample peak tells you what is in the file; true peak tells you what comes out after reconstruction and encoding. The gap between them is where streaming distortion hides. Set a -1 dBTP ceiling, use a true-peak limiter, and verify before you upload — and that mysterious distortion disappears for good.