Mastering The Mix LEVELS metering plug-in: features and spec-based rating

Mastering The Mix’s LEVELS is a meter in which you choose streaming-service or broadcast targets as presets and check loudness, true peak (a guide to the clipping that happens when exporting or converting for streaming), loudness range (the spread of volume within a song) and dynamic range. It also shows stereo width and the amount of low end (Bass Space), and tells you when a value is outside the target.

A loudness meter measures how loud a song sounds. You use it to check that a track fits the loudness guidelines of streaming services such as YouTube and Spotify.

In this article we compare LEVELS with 10 loudness meters and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.

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Summary

Among the 10 loudness meters, LEVELS is rank S. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and S is the top. Averaging the scores for each criterion (out of 5, with the one criterion that matters most for the purpose counted double) gives 4.3.

Strengths

• Streaming checks (4 points): you can quickly check that a track fits the targets of each streaming service.
• Measurable values (5 points): it can measure a wide range of values about volume.
• Finding problems (4 points): it finds and tells you about problems other than volume.

Who it suits: people who want to see at a glance whether a track fits streaming targets.

Main features of LEVELS

Colors show when you are outside the target

LEVELS is a meter that lets you check loudness, peak, stereo width, low end and dynamic range on one screen. Items outside the target you chose are marked by color, so it is easy to see what to fix. It has presets for the main streaming services and broadcast standards.

Stereo width and Stereo Filter

A vectorscope shows the left-right spread. With Stereo Filter you can isolate particular frequencies and check the spread of that band. It helps you find things such as lows that spread too wide to the sides.

Bass Space shows the amount of low end

Bass Space is a display that shows how the deep low end (sub-bass) is distributed. It is a clue for judging whether there is so much low end that it is pressing down the whole mix.

Where it is useful

• Finishing a track for streaming while watching the target color display
• Checking that the low end is not spreading too wide to the sides
• Watching the dynamic range to avoid crushing the sound too much

Rating by criterion

Streaming checks: 4 / 5

We check whether you can confirm that a track fits the targets of each streaming service.

It has presets for the main streaming services and broadcast standards, and compares loudness with the target you chose.

Measurable values: 5 / 5

We check how many values it can measure, such as loudness, loudness range and the risk of clipping (true peak).

It can display loudness, true peak, loudness range and dynamic range.

Finding problems: 4 / 5

We check whether it finds and tells you about problems other than volume (such as the balance of the sound).

It shows stereo width, the amount of low end (Bass Space) and dynamic range, and marks values outside the target by color.

How we score (Loudness meters)

Criterion	Basis	5 pt	4 pt	3 pt	2 pt	1 pt
Streaming checks	Whether you can check against the targets of streaming services	Streaming-service targets, plus automatic loudness adjustment and a preview of how it sounds after audio compression	Targets for each streaming service (presets)	Presets for standards such as broadcast	It only measures numbers	—
Measurable values	How many of loudness, loudness range, true peak and PLR or dynamic range it can measure	All four	Three	Two	One	—
Finding problems	Analysis and advice beyond volume	Three or more kinds of analysis, plus advice on how to fix problems	Three or more kinds (stereo width, frequency distribution, dynamics and so on)	One or two kinds	No analysis beyond volume	—

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: checking that a song can be released at a volume suited to streaming services. Scores follow the conditions in the table above, and the rank is based on an average in which "Streaming checks" counts double. The basis is official manufacturer information, and features that could not be confirmed on the official page are treated as absent. Measurement accuracy has not been tested, so it is not part of the score. Price is not part of the score. Features that cannot be confirmed from the manufacturer's or a retailer's description are scored as if absent. The "OBS (streaming)" column in the table shows whether the official page lists the VST2 format that the streaming software OBS Studio can use (○). OBS does not support the VST3 format. It is not part of the score.

LEVELS system requirements and getting started

Operating system	Windows 10 or later / Mac (OS X 10.15 or later)
Plug-in formats	Windows: VST3, AAX / Mac: AU, VST3, AAX (64-bit)
OBS (streaming)	Does not work as it is (VST3 only). It can be loaded through a bridge plug-in

Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on September 27, 2026.

Compared with other loudness meters

Click a heading to sort. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.

Read next

• EXPOSE 2: features and rating (rank S)
• Youlean Loudness Meter: features and rating (rank A)
• Insight 2: features and rating (rank A)
• MasterCheck: features and rating (rank A)