True peak (dBTP)
The real loudest point of a waveform between the samples, which can overshoot what your meter shows and clip after export.
See it
What it is
Your DAW meter reads samples: discrete dots on a grid. The actual waveform is the smooth curve drawn through those dots when a player converts the file back to sound, and that curve can arc higher than any single dot. True peak (measured in dBTP, decibels true peak) estimates the height of that curve by oversampling, usually 4x, so it catches the overshoot that sample peak meters miss.
The gap matters most after lossy encoding. Convert a file that sits right at 0 dBFS to MP3 or AAC and the decoder reconstructs peaks a decibel or more higher, which then clips the listener's DAC or the streaming platform's own limiter. This is why delivery specs are written as ceilings, and the number is whatever your specific spec says. -1 dBTP is the common figure for streaming and podcasts, and core EBU R 128 sets a maximum permitted true peak of -1 dBTP for broadcast. Some lossy-delivery guidance asks for -2 dBTP instead, to leave the codec room to overshoot. Read the contract you are delivering against rather than reusing the last one. The measurement method itself comes from ITU-R BS.1770.
Gotcha: a limiter set to a sample-peak ceiling of -0.1 dBFS is not safe. It only guarantees the dots, not the curve between them. Switch the limiter into true peak mode and set the ceiling to -1 dBTP, then check the exported file rather than the project, since encoding is where the overshoot appears.
Ask AI for it
Measure this audio with a true peak (dBTP) meter using 4x oversampling per ITU-R BS.1770, not a sample peak meter, and report any moment above -1 dBTP with its timestamp. Then set a true-peak-aware brickwall limiter with a -1 dBTP ceiling, re-export, and verify the encoded MP3 or AAC still measures at or below -1 dBTP.