What Is True Peak (dBTP)?
Published · updated · by Loopin
True peak, measured in dBTP, is the real analog peak level of your audio — including the inter-sample peaks that occur between digital samples when the signal is reconstructed for playback. Because of those hidden peaks, true peak can be higher than your sample-peak meter shows and can even exceed 0 dBFS, causing clipping — especially after lossy encoding. Best practice: limit to −1 dBTP (−2 dBTP for Amazon Music).
True peak in one sentence
Your DAW’s normal peak meter shows sample peaks — the highest values stored in the individual digital samples. True peak goes further: it estimates the highest level the reconstructed analog waveform actually reaches when it’s played back.
That reconstructed signal can rise above the loudest stored sample, so true peak (dBTP) can read higher than the sample-peak meter. That gap is where surprise clipping comes from.
- Sample peak — the highest value in the stored samples.
- True peak (dBTP) — the highest level of the reconstructed analog waveform.
- True peak can be higher than sample peak — and higher than 0 dBFS.
What inter-sample peaks are
Digital audio is a series of snapshots — samples — taken thousands of times a second. To turn those dots back into sound, the playback system draws a smooth curve through them. That curve can bulge higher between two samples than either sample itself.
Those bulges are inter-sample peaks. Nothing in your stored samples exceeds 0 dBFS, yet the real waveform between them does. Your sample-peak meter never sees it, which is exactly why it’s dangerous.
- Samples are snapshots; playback reconstructs a smooth curve through them.
- That curve can peak between samples — an inter-sample peak.
- A file at 0 dBFS on the sample meter can still exceed 0 dBFS in true peak.
Why true peak clips when sample peak looks fine
This is the trap. You bounce a master, the sample-peak meter reads exactly 0.0 dBFS, and everything looks safe. But when it’s converted back to analog on someone’s device, the inter-sample peaks push past the ceiling and the D/A converter clips.
The result is a nasty, brittle distortion that you never heard in your session because your own meter was blind to it. It tends to show up on dense, loud material — exactly the kind of track you worked hardest on — and it can differ from one playback device to another.
True-peak metering exists precisely to catch this before it ships, by predicting the reconstructed waveform instead of just reading stored samples.
- A 0 dBFS sample peak can hide inter-sample peaks above 0 dBFS.
- The D/A converter clips those peaks on playback.
- You won’t hear it in your session — only a true-peak meter catches it.
Lossy encoding makes it worse
Streaming platforms deliver lossy formats like AAC and MP3, and the encoding process reshapes the waveform. That reshaping can raise peaks, so a file that was borderline safe can develop new true-peak overs after it’s encoded.
This is why leaving margin matters. A track that measures right at 0 dBTP before upload can end up clipping once the platform re-encodes it. The fix is to keep a buffer below the ceiling.
- Lossy codecs (AAC, MP3) reshape the waveform and can raise peaks.
- A borderline file can gain new overs after encoding.
- Margin below 0 dBTP is what keeps you safe through that conversion.
The fix: limit to −1 dBTP
The standard, reliable practice is to set a true-peak limiter so your master never exceeds −1 dBTP. That 1 dB of margin absorbs the inter-sample peaks and the extra peaks that encoding can introduce.
Amazon Music is stricter — aim for −2 dBTP there. A true-peak-aware limiter is different from a normal peak limiter: it accounts for what happens between the samples, not just the stored values.
- Default target: a −1 dBTP ceiling for streaming.
- Amazon Music: aim for −2 dBTP.
- Use a true-peak limiter, not just a sample-peak one.
How Loopin handles true peak for you
You don’t have to configure any of this by hand. Loopin’s free online mastering ends its chain with a true-peak limiter set at −1 dBTP, so your finished master keeps a safe margin automatically.
It runs the whole process in your browser — corrective EQ, multiband compression, character EQ, saturation, stereo work, loudness targeting to about −14 LUFS, and that final true-peak limiter — with nothing uploaded. You get a full-quality WAV that’s already protected against inter-sample clipping.
- Finishes with a true-peak limiter at −1 dBTP — automatic.
- Targets around −14 LUFS for streaming in the same pass.
- Runs in-browser, nothing uploaded, exports a WAV.
Step by step: get a true-peak-safe master
Here’s the whole flow, start to finish:
- Bounce a clean WAV with a little headroom and no limiter on the mix bus.
- Open Loopin’s free mastering and drop the file in — it processes on your device, nothing uploaded.
- Let the chain run — it ends with a true-peak limiter at −1 dBTP.
- A/B Original vs Mastered and confirm it lands near −14 LUFS.
- Check the true peak reads at or below −1 dBTP (−2 dBTP if you’re targeting Amazon Music).
- Download the WAV — it’s protected against inter-sample clipping through encoding.
The bottom line
True peak (dBTP) is the real analog level of your audio, inter-sample peaks and all — and it can quietly exceed 0 dBFS even when your sample meter says you’re fine, especially after lossy encoding. That’s why it clips when you least expect it.
The answer is simple: keep a margin and limit to −1 dBTP (or −2 for Amazon Music). Loopin’s free mastering does that for you automatically, so your WAV ships clean.
Frequently asked questions
What is true peak?
True peak, measured in dBTP, is the real analog peak level of your audio including inter-sample peaks — the peaks that occur between digital samples when the signal is reconstructed for playback. It can read higher than your sample-peak meter.
What are inter-sample peaks?
They’re peaks in the reconstructed analog waveform that fall between two digital samples. Because no stored sample exceeds the ceiling, a normal peak meter misses them — but the real waveform can still go over 0 dBFS and clip on playback.
Why does my master clip when the meter shows 0 dBFS?
Your sample-peak meter only reads stored sample values. Inter-sample peaks between them can push the reconstructed signal above 0 dBFS, and the D/A converter clips them — especially after lossy encoding reshapes the waveform.
What true peak should I limit to?
Limit to −1 dBTP for a safe margin on most streaming platforms. Amazon Music is stricter, so aim for −2 dBTP there. Use a true-peak-aware limiter rather than a plain sample-peak one.
Does Loopin handle true peak automatically?
Yes. Loopin’s free in-browser mastering ends its chain with a true-peak limiter set at −1 dBTP, so your master keeps a safe margin against inter-sample clipping. It also targets around −14 LUFS and exports a WAV.