FabFilter

I'm mastering a project right now, and shooting for -14 LUFS with -1dB TP. I have Pro-L 2 set with a -1 dB ceiling and my integrated LUFS meter in Pro-L 2 reads as -14 when I play the whole song. BUT when I export the track and then bring it back into reaper, if i bounce it a second time from reaper (without any plugins or volume adjustments, should be the same exact track) the reaper analysis tells me that the peaks are at -0.1 instead of -1, and the LUFS reading is -13.

Any ideas what is causing this discrepancy? Trying to be accurate for my client and not quite sure which figure to trust.

Thanks!

I should also say that this doesn't appear to be a resampling problem when I analyze in Reaper, as I exported the track in 48k, and analyzed in Reaper at 48k. I also tried higher and lower sample rates, but that didn't change the outcome.

My first guess is that Reaper is perhaps dithering/noiseshaping on the second bounce, causing the discrepancy.

Instead of re-bouncing to get LUFS and peak readings, did you try just playing the track to completion to get an LUFS and peak reading?

Fred

Try posting your question to the Reaper forums. Also you can use the SWS extensions Loudness tool to check your file’s loudness stats in Reaper.