What does normalizing audio actually do?
It measures how loud the file really is — the LUFS number streaming services use — and raises or lowers it to a standard target. Every file you run through it comes out at the same level.
Runs in your browser. Your file never leaves your computer.
- MeasurementIntegrated LUFS, gated
- Targets−14, −16 or −23 LUFS
- CeilingLimiter at −1 dB
- Result noteShows measured and applied dB
Anyone who has queued a playlist of files from different sources knows the problem: one track whispers, the next one shouts. Peak normalizing never fixed this, because two files with identical peaks can differ wildly in perceived loudness. This tool does what the streaming platforms do instead — it measures the file's integrated loudness in LUFS over its full length, gated the way the broadcast standard prescribes, then applies exactly the gain needed to hit your target: −14 LUFS for music streaming, −16 for podcasts and voice, −23 for broadcast delivery. A limiter at −1 dB absorbs the few peaks that a big lift would push over. Run ten mismatched files through it and they come back at one consistent level, measured, not guessed. The audio itself never leaves your browser.
Questions
Which target should I pick?
−14 LUFS matches what music streaming services play at and suits most files. −16 is the common recommendation for podcasts and spoken word. −23 is the European broadcast standard; use it only when a broadcaster asks for it.
Is this the same as maximizing the volume?
No. Normalizing can turn a file down as well as up — a slammed, over-loud master gets lowered to the target. The goal is consistency, not maximum loudness.
Does it squash the dynamics?
Almost never. The change is a single constant gain; the limiter only acts on the few peaks a large upward lift would clip, and at −1 dB it acts rarely.
How do I know what happened?
The job's result line reports the measured loudness and the gain applied, for example "Measured −19.2 LUFS; brought to −14 LUFS (+5.2 dB)".
Related conversions
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- Audio compressorA full compressor with live preview: threshold, ratio, attack, release, knee, makeup and a delta mode that plays exactly what is being changed. Processed privately in your browser.
- WAV to MP3Turn a large studio recording into a small file that plays anywhere, at a bitrate where almost nobody can hear the difference.
- WAV to FLACFLAC keeps every sample of the recording and still cuts the file roughly in half. The archive format for audio you may need again.
- WAV to M4AAAC at 256 kbps: better sound per megabyte than MP3, native on every Apple device, fine everywhere else.
- WAV to OGGThe most efficient codec in wide use: transparent around 128 kbps, ideal for the web and for apps, weaker on Apple hardware.
Part of convert audio files in your browser. Every other conversion is on the conversions index.