Sample-peak meters miss inter-sample peaks, which can exceed 0 dBFS by 3 dB and require an oversampling True-Peak meter

A DAW sample-peak meter reads only the amplitude of the discrete audio samples, but the analogue waveform reconstructed from those samples can rise above the highest sample value between samples. These inter-sample peaks can reach 3 dB or more above 0 dBFS even when the sample-peak meter never showed a clip, so a signal that looks safe in the box can overload a D-A converter or a downstream lossy encoder. A True-Peak meter oversamples the signal to estimate the reconstructed waveform and catch these peaks; it was standardised in the ITU-R BS.1770 loudness spec. This matters most when routing out to analogue (hybrid setups) or delivering masters.

Examples

A limited master reads exactly -0.1 dBFS sample-peak but a True-Peak meter shows +1.8 dBTP; an MP3 encoder or a converter then clips on playback. Leaving ~1 dB extra True-Peak headroom avoids it.

Assessment

Explain why a track that never lights the clip LED on a DAW sample-peak meter can still distort when sent through a D-A converter or an MP3 encoder, and what meter type detects the problem.