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kHz

Ok, so.. The songs will mostly be released at spotify, amazon, apple music, youtube, soundcloud and so on.

With streaming services, it's very important to keep True Peak values below -1.0 (or lower for loud LUFS values). The streaming service usually specifies a preferred True Peak value. Transcoding audio to a data-compressed format (which most streaming services do) with True Peak values above -1.0 can create a fuzzy kind of background distortion. This is also the case with YouTube.
 
-14 Lufs? Is that sort of a target?
 
-14 Lufs? Is that sort of a target?
Gilder explains it here. Go to 5:50 for the quick anwer within Studio One, but watch the whole video if you want a relatively full explanation of lufs.
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I have a somewhat different way of looking at LUFS. I don't see it as a target to attain, otherwise you'd need to create a different master for each streaming service. Instead, I see it as a way to know how a streaming service will change the level of what you send in to conform to their "standard."

Hitting a target level is essential only if you want to make sure the service doesn't change the level of what you submit. This does NOT relate to their compressing the signal or altering dynamic range, it's simply about perceived level. The reality is you can send music at whatever LUFS value you want. For example, in my rock-oriented projects, I like to use some multi-band limiting on the master. My usual "standard" is -12.5 LUFS, which to my ears is the sweet spot between a "hot" sound and one with solid dynamic range. The streaming service will turn it down to reach their standard. As mentioned, the only constraint I consider truly important is not to exceed their recommended True Peak value.

Also note that most streaming services will not increase the level of music to meet their standard LUFS level (although some do), but only lower levels that exceed it. Also, Spotify has an option where users can turn off volume normalization, so they hear the music at whatever level you used (which kind of defeats the purpose of an LUFS standard, but whatever...).

Bottom line: Master for the sound YOU want. The streaming service will do what's needed to meet their LUFS standard. It won't affect your audio's dynamic range, only its perceived level.
 
Ok, so.. The songs will mostly be released at spotify, amazon, apple music, youtube, soundcloud and so on.

About S1 samplerate conversion, is the S1 dither holding up to, lets say izotope ozone and more?
Since S1 got a new dither algorithm in v5.x it is an absolute nobrainer. You don't ever have to think of switching it on or off, as it will only be used if the alternative is truncating, which will always be ugly and easier to hear when stacked.
 
........Bottom line: Master for the sound YOU want. The streaming service will do what's needed to meet their LUFS standard. It won't affect your audio's dynamic range, only its perceived level.
I agree with what you said, Craig. All good points. I just came across a video in what looked to help the OP in where to find luff tools. Only you nailed it with the final analysis. While LUFS is an effort to quantify perceived loudness, I've found it is more important depending on the source material one is working on (or grouping together). It will often vary, and experience in releasing and seeing what actually happens accounts for a lot!
 
Many times answers to questions evolve, or build on previous answers. That's the beauty of the forum format :)
 
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