LoudMax Explained: The Free Limiter's Two Sliders, Two Switches, and a Settings Chart (Plus the True Peak Catch)

The short answer: LoudMax is a free look-ahead brickwall limiter by Thomas Mundt, with two sliders and two switches. Threshold sets how hard you drive it: pull it down and the track gets louder while Output holds the ceiling. Link ties the Output slider to Threshold, so you can hear the limiting at a matched level, and ISP turns on inter-sample peak detection for true peak limiting. On a streaming master, switch ISP on, set Output to -1.2 to -1.5 dB (the developer's own advice for a -1.0 dBTP target), and lower Threshold until the loudest section shows 1 to 3 dB of gain reduction. It runs as VST2, VST3 and AU on Windows and macOS, plus LADSPA on Linux. There's no AAX version, so it won't load in Pro Tools. It's simple because the timing is decided for you: 1.25 ms of look-ahead and an automatic release.

The limiter is the stage I spend the least time on in my own masters (Sony, Universal, Ultra, Dim Mak releases), because the stages before it do the real work of loudness. LoudMax is free and there are no affiliate links on this page. I sell mastering chains, disclosed at the end.

What LoudMax is (and what it leaves out)

The developer describes LoudMax as a look-ahead brickwall loudness maximizer with a clean, transparent sound, built for mastering and for limiting the output of web radio stations. It's freeware ("not commercial in any mean," in the developer's words), with a donation link if you want to support it. The current version at the time of writing is 1.47, released in June 2026 with "improved microdynamics transparency."

What it leaves out is the point. There's no attack or release knob, no algorithm or style menu and no dry/wet mix. The look-ahead and attack are fixed at 1.25 ms, and the release is automatic, following the input signal. That's why it's the free limiter most people learn on: you can't set it badly in the ways other limiters let you.

Every control, explained

One caution from the developer: Link works reliably only in LoudMax's own interface. In some hosts' generic controls view the link still works, but the Output slider's new position isn't displayed.

ISP: the true peak catch

A digital file stores samples, but the waveform a converter or an encoder rebuilds between those samples can peak higher than any single sample. The developer says those true peak overshoots can reach up to 3 dB on normal, band-limited audio. That's why a master that never touches 0 dB on a sample peak meter can still clip after it's converted to a streaming format. What true peak is covers the mechanism.

With ISP on, LoudMax calculates four extra samples between every two real ones, which cuts the overshoots to about 0.2 dB on normal material and 0.5 dB on extreme test signals. The developer also notes that LoudMax uses its own interpolation, not the one the ITU-R BS.1770 meters use, so a BS.1770 true peak meter can still read up to 0.2 dB above your Output setting. Hence the advice on the developer's page: for a guaranteed -1.0 dBTP, set Output to -1.2 dB or even -1.5 dB.

Two practical notes. ISP changes LoudMax's latency, and most hosts only update their delay compensation at the next stop and start, so stop and restart playback after you switch it. And for anything you bounce for release, leave ISP on; the CPU cost is small next to a clipped encode.

LoudMax settings chart, by job

Starting points. Set the final amount by ear against a reference, then confirm it on a meter.

The numbers that matter most are the gain reduction and the true peak reading after it. Targets by genre are in how loud your master should be.

How to set up LoudMax on a master

1. Download it from the developer's site only (loudmax.blogspot.com). The license doesn't allow redistribution without the author's permission, so copies on other sites aren't authorized, and free-plugin mirrors are how adware gets installed; the Camel Crusher story is the cautionary tale. Installation steps are in the readme inside the zip.
2. Insert it last on the master, after your EQ, compression and any saturation or clipper, with only a meter after it. The free Youlean Loudness Meter is the easy pick.
3. Set Output to -1.2 dB and switch ISP on. Stop and restart playback so your DAW picks up the new latency.
4. Turn Link on and lower Threshold while the loudest section plays, until the gain reduction meter peaks at 1 to 3 dB. Toggle your DAW's bypass to hear what the limiting does at a matched level: punch kept or punch lost.
5. Turn Link off and set Output back to -1.2 dB, or -1.5 dB on a very loud master.
6. Play the whole song through the meter. Read integrated loudness and true peak max. If true peak lands above -1.0 dBTP, lower Output by 0.1 to 0.3 dB and check again.
7. Compare against a commercial reference at matched loudness before you bounce; how to use reference tracks shows how.

In a stock DAW chain, LoudMax can take the last slot in place of the stock limiter; the FL Studio mastering chain and the Ableton mastering chain show every stage before it.

LoudMax vs other limiters

LoudMax isn't built to win a loudness war. Limiters with several algorithms and release options tend to hold up better when dense music is pushed very hard, and the paid picks are compared in the best limiter plugins. Before you buy one, move the loudness earlier: a clipper in front (ranked in the best clipper plugins), a touch of saturation, and glue compression let any limiter work less. What a limiter does has the signs you've pushed too far.

Where LoudMax runs

That covers FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro (AU), Cubase, Studio One, Reaper and Bitwig. Pro Tools only loads AAX, so Pro Tools users have Pro Limiter or Maxim instead; the Pro Tools mastering chain sets both up.

Mistakes that make LoudMax sound bad

• ISP off on a streaming master. Sample peaks at -1 dB can still overshoot after encoding.
• Output at 0 dB. No room for inter-sample peaks or the encoder.
• Judging louder as better. Turn Link on to compare at matched loudness; the louder version almost always wins a mismatched test.
• Forgetting the latency change. Toggle ISP, then stop and restart playback, especially before a bounce.
• Two limiters both working. Stacked limiters double the pumping. Let one do the job.
• Leaving it on the mix you send out. If a mastering engineer is finishing the track, bounce without it; my own stereo mastering intake asks for no master bus processing at all.
• Asking it to fix the mix. If the drop only hits with 6 dB of gain reduction, the balance or the low end needs work first.

Where I land (and the disclosure)

LoudMax earns its reputation: clean at sensible settings, with almost nothing to set wrong. Use your stock limiter or LoudMax, switch true peak on, and spend your time on the stages before the limiter.

That's the idea behind my own chains. Every one of my Ultimate Master Chains ends in a limiter that's already set: the Ozone chain in the Maximizer, the Waves chain in the L2, the Plugin Alliance chain in bx_limiter True Peak behind bx_clipper, and the Ableton and Logic chains in their stock limiters. The stages before it build the loudness, so the limiter barely has to work. I'm biased; LoudMax at the end of a well-built chain does the same last job.

Quick answers

Is LoudMax free? Yes. LoudMax is freeware from Thomas Mundt, downloadable from the developer's site with an optional donation, in VST2, VST3 and AU for Windows and macOS (including Apple Silicon) and LADSPA for Linux.

What are the best LoudMax settings for mastering? ISP on, Output at -1.2 to -1.5 dB for a -1.0 dBTP target, and Threshold lowered until the loudest section shows 1 to 3 dB of gain reduction. Confirm loudness and true peak on a meter after it.

Does LoudMax work in Pro Tools? No. LoudMax has no AAX version, and Pro Tools only loads AAX plugins. Pro Tools' own Pro Limiter, or Maxim, does the same job.

Is LoudMax a true peak limiter? With ISP on, yes, within limits: the developer says it reduces true peak overshoots to about 0.2 dB on normal material, and a BS.1770 meter can read up to 0.2 dB above the Output setting. Set Output 0.2 to 0.5 dB below your target.