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Express Paper

The audibility of true peak distortion

Authors: Teigland, Tore; Jensen, Pål Erik; Andersen, Claus Sohn

Express Paper · Paper 301 · September 2024

Abstract

In a recent study, the authors interviewed five professional mastering engineers on the topic of contemporary loudness practices in music. Among the findings, all five mastering engineers targeted their peak levels very close to 0 dBFS and seemed somewhat unconcerned regarding true peak distortion emerging in the transcoding process, not adapting to the current recommendations of not exceeding -1 dB true peak. Furthermore, true peak measurements over the last four decades show that quite a few releases even measure true peaks above 0 dBFS in full quality. The aim of this study is to investigate the audibility of such overshoots by conducting a tailored listening test. The results indicate that even experienced and trained listeners may not be very sensitive to true peak distortion.

Details

AES Convention
157
Paper number
301
Publication date
September 27, 2024
Affiliation
School of Arts, Design and Music, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway ; School of Arts, Design and Music, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway; School of Arts, Design and Music, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway (See document for exact affiliation information.)
Type
Express Paper