Glossary → Audio engineering
Audio engineering

True peak

True peak measures the actual analog waveform maximum after digital-to-analog conversion, which can exceed the highest stored sample — measured in dBTP.

Inter-sample peaks can clip converters and lossy encoders even when samples stay under 0 dBFS, which is why delivery specs cap true peak (commonly −1 or −2 dBTP) rather than sample peak.

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