Let’s face it, LUFS don’t work.
No-one understands them, when you set a load of different songs to -14 LUFS they all sound a different loudness, and they weren’t even developed using music. RMS is just better, right ?
These are just some of the objections we’ve been hearing about LUFS recently, and in this episode we investigate them. Is there any truth to these claims and statements ? (Hint - Yes !)
Along the way we also cover:
- Why loudness is like the weather
- How EQ affects loudness, and how we hear it
- Loudness on the radio
- The ideal podcast loudness
- What’s up with Spotify’s loudness recommendation
TMS #44 - Loudness Units 101
r128x-GUI – Free loudness measurement app for OS-X
TMS #52 – DON’T aim for LUFS targets online
TMS #67 – Minus 14 LUFS – or NOT ?
It's been a few years now that I'm happily using the free mvMeter2 (https://www.tb-software.com/TBProAudio/mvmeter2.html) either on single audio tracks or on busses.
I originally compared measurements and usability with Waves WLM and I found mvMeter2 a lot easier to deal with, with its VU meter look. I set it to EBU SL at -14 dB (not because of the -14 dB craze, but it's consistent with my workflow and the results I'm aiming for 😉 ).
Before that, I'been using Waves PAZ-meters (RMS 300ms), so I agree with you that whatever meter you use, it's always feasible once you've got your marks, but for my self I find LUFS a lot reliable for matching numbers with the loudness you actually hear.