Question

Same song (no changes whatsoever at any point in this test) and 3 different plug-ins (YouLean meter, Span, and S1 Level Meter) to measure LUFS, TP, and related parameters.  All 3 plug-ins are inserted on the main channel and all 3 give different readouts.  I then insert all 3 post-fader and again all 3 give different loudness readouts, but this time the readouts are lower (quieter) than before.  Last, I move the song to the project page, again making no changes whatsoever to the song.  There is no processing in the project page - only the same 3 loudness meters, and again I get completely different readouts for LUFS, TP, and related parameters (i.e., readouts that differ from those obtained in the song page).  What is happening here and why is this happening? Running latest version of S15.0.2 and Catalina10.15.7.  Thanks.   

Answer 1

I'm having the same problem with inconsistency among various components of Studio One. None of them agree with each other, or the unanimous readings shown by Audacity, 2nd Opinion, ACX Playground and Izotope RX. To submit audiobooks to ACX (Audible.com's gateway), I need to set my Project page levels 2 dB louder than my -19.5 dB target.

Also, when I use the Bulk Processor, I suddenly am getting Normalization to 0 dB peak instead of the intended EBU RU128 level in my settings. I haven't found any way to select RMS or get back to LUFS.

Answer 2

Bob,

RX8 Loudness Control (in the RX8 Standard package) lets you specify and hit your target TP and LUFS values.  The latter measure is given as LKFS in RX8, but this is identical to LUFS and therefore similar to RMS except that it is supposed to be more accurate in terms of perceived loudness vs. the average loudness determined by RMS.  What is particularly vexing to me is that pre and post FX loudness measurements given in the project page differ even when no inserts of any kind are applied.  Just toggling back and forth between the two gives different readings.   I do not understand how or why this should be the case.