Inside your DAW

dBFS Scale

0 dBFS

Ceiling — clipping above

−6

Master peak target

−12

Hot, transient room

−18

Healthy track level

−30

Quiet but usable

−42

Low signal

−54

Approaching noise floor

−60

Noise floor

−18.0 dBFS

Healthy track level

The sweet spot for an individual track during recording or mixing. Plenty of headroom for processing without ever clipping.

In the real world

dB SPL — what it sounds like

130 dB Threshold of pain · jet engine close
120 dB Rock concert front row · ambulance siren
110 dB Live band on stage · power saw
100 dB Subway train · loud monitor mix
90 dB Lawnmower · hairdryer · pro mix volume
79 dB Calibrated mix monitoring (K-20)
60 dB Normal conversation · background music
40 dB Quiet library · refrigerator hum
30 dB Whisper · quiet bedroom
10 dB Breathing · rustling leaves
0 dB Threshold of human hearing

How dBFS relates to dB SPL: They're different scales for different things. dBFS is digital level inside your DAW (caps at 0). dB SPL is acoustic loudness in the air (no cap). They only line up when you calibrate your monitors — at the K-20 standard, −20 dBFS ≈ 79 dB SPL in the room. Click any row to jump the slider. Rows marked ref are real-world reference points outside the slider's range — your DAW can't produce a jet engine at calibrated monitoring, but it's useful to know the scale.

Other dB flavors you'll meet

dBu

+4.0 dBu

Analog line level on pro gear (0 dBu = 0.775 V RMS). +4 dBu ≈ 0 VU on a meter ≈ −18 dBFS digital (EBU standard).

dBV

+1.78 dBV

Analog level reference of 1 V RMS. Used on consumer gear at −10 dBV nominal (vs. +4 dBu on pro gear). dBu = dBV + 2.21.

dB VU

0.0 VU

Volume Unit — analog meter standard. 0 VU ≈ −18 dBFS (EBU) or −20 dBFS (SMPTE/US). Slow ballistics, shows perceived level.

LUFS (integrated)

−14 LUFS

Streaming-platform loudness target. Spotify −14, YouTube −14, Apple Music −16, broadcast −23 (EBU R128). Measures perceived loudness over the full track.

Try this: Drag the indicator to −18 dBFS. That's the healthy resting place for an individual track during recording. Then drag to 0 dBFS — anything above that line is clipping in digital. The whole skill of gain staging is keeping your tracks in the green-and-teal zone, with the master peak landing somewhere around −6 dBFS.

dB Unit Converter

dBFS Scale

dB SPL — what it sounds like

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