A Suno export already at −13.6 LUFS: what mastering changed, and what it didn't
We mastered a real Suno song that came out of Suno at −13.6 LUFS, right next to Spotify's level. The before/after numbers — loudness, true peak, tone and dynamics — including the one that got worse.
"Master it louder" is the default advice for any song made with Suno. We tried it on a real track and measured what happened. The short version: this export didn't need to get louder at all, and the honest result of mastering was small.
The track
A 3 minute 55 second song generated on a paid Suno plan, downloaded as WAV (48 kHz, 16-bit) and shared with us by its author for this test. No mixing or processing after Suno.
Measured with the free LUFS checker:
| Reading | Suno export |
|---|---|
| Integrated loudness | −13.6 LUFS |
| True peak | −3.2 dBTP |
| Loudness range | 5.1 LU |
Spotify plays music at about −14 LUFS. This export was already there — which matches what we see across Suno: in our measurement of 248 Suno exports the median was −14.3 LUFS.
What mastering changed
We mastered it with Echoteka's standard profile for a Spotify target and measured the result with the same meters:
| Reading | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated loudness | −13.6 LUFS | −14.0 LUFS |
| True peak | −3.2 dBTP | −2.8 dBTP |
| Loudness range | 5.1 LU | 4.1 LU |
| Energy share 120 Hz–4 kHz (whole song) | — | +0.6 dB |
| Energy share above 10 kHz (whole song) | — | +0.9 dB |
| Energy share below 120 Hz (whole song) | — | −0.7 dB |
In plain words:
- Loudness went slightly down, not up, to sit on Spotify's −14 LUFS. Spotify would have turned the original down by about 0.4 dB anyway.
- True peak stayed safe, well under −1 dBTP, so the AAC and Ogg copies streaming services make will not clip.
- The tone moved a little: a touch more midrange and top, a touch less low end. On this song that reads as a little more clarity; it is not a different sound.
- Loudness range got narrower by 1 LU. That is the trade-off of the standard profile on a track that is already dense. For a song like this, a lighter touch would keep more of the movement between verse and chorus.
What mastering didn't do
It didn't make the song louder on Spotify — nothing can, because Spotify turns everything to the same level. It didn't change the arrangement, the vocal or the sound of the generator itself. And it didn't need to fix anything dramatic, because the export was already in good shape.
What to take from it
- Measure before you master. If your Suno export is already near −14 LUFS with true peak under −1 dBTP, the job is small: tone and safe peaks, not volume.
- Don't push it louder. A louder master is turned down on streaming services and loses dynamics on the way.
- Listen to the dynamics. If your track is dense already, choose the lightest processing that does the job — and compare before and after at the same loudness.
Check your own export free with the LUFS checker, and see what one master changes: one full master is free every day, no account needed.
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