Why Do So Few Limiters Have LUFS Metering?

by **ITHertz** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:48 am

Hi Folks,

With so much of today's mastering aimed at streaming platforms I'm curious as to why so few limiters have LUFS metering? Seems a no-brainer to me. I know there are lots of separate LUFS meters available, some free, but why not include this feature in the limiter?

I have six limiters: Newfangled Elevate, bx_XL V2, Flux Pure Limiter V3, TB Barricade v4, Mundt LoudMax, and D16 Frontier. Of these only Barricade has LUFS metering (but it lacks level matching so I don't use it much).

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Chris

by **Wonks** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:33 am

Mainly because the operation of a limiter needs to be very fast acting indeed (a few ms), and LUFS, even at its 'instantaneous' time value reading, is several hundred ms.

So the fundamental operation of a limiter is far too fast to make a LUFS meter an essential part of its operation. If it has one, it is simply tacked on, so you may as well have a separate meter. The LUFS part has to be after the limiter, so it is no use for showing you how the limiter is actually operating.

by **Hugh Robjohns** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:29 am

A limiter is about peak control, whereas LUFS metering is about long-term perceived loudness... the two aren't really directly related.

It would, however, make sense to have True-Peak metering on limiters... and perhaps that's what you were thinking of. Some do, of course... and oversampling limiters will tend towards true-peak working anyway.

H

by **Dave B** » Mon Oct 14, 2019 3:21 pm

(Cough cough) fabfilter L2 (cough cough)

:bouncy:

SOUND ON SOUND

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Why Do So Few Limiters Have LUFS Metering?