FreeMetering

Metering Cockpit

Loudness meter with flexible frequency analysis

Loudness, peak, dynamics, spectrum, correlation and waveform in one window, with a loudness history over time.

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macOS (VST3, AU) · Windows (VST3)

Overview

Four displays

Loudness, level, dynamics, spectrum and waveform in one window, all of them visible at the same time.

Integrated, Short-Term, Max True Peak and LRA in one block
Peak and dynamics columns side by side, on the same dB scale
Fractional-octave analyzer from 1/1 to 1/24, or raw FFT bins
Stereo waveform and correlation, always on screen

Loudness

Readout

Measures loudness the way broadcast and streaming platforms check it: Momentary, Short-Term and gated Integrated to BS.1770-4, loudness range to EBU Tech 3342, and a four-times oversampled true peak.

Momentary (400 ms), Short-Term (3 s), gated Integrated
Loudness range (LRA) over the whole session, strictly to EBU R128
True peak with 4x oversampling, held as a session maximum
The measurement keeps running with the window closed

Dynamics

Crest factor

The crest factor is shown as the length of a bar: it floats from the short-term RMS up to the held peak, next to the level columns. The colour follows that length, green for a lot of headroom, red for material that sits close to its peak.

Level and dynamics on the same dB scale, so the columns line up
Continuous colour ramp, no jumping between steps
Held peak and crest as numbers below, worst channel first
Stereo correlation with a needle from -1 to +1

Over time

Loudness history

The loudness history shows the recent past, newest on the right, over a selectable span between 15 seconds and 5 minutes. The target is the dashed line in that same area, and it can be dragged up or down. A silent passage leaves a gap in the curve rather than disappearing, so a pause stays on screen as long as it lasted.

Momentary, short-term or integrated, one curve at a time
Span from 15 seconds to 5 minutes, with time marks that travel with the music
Dragging the target line reads as one automation gesture to the host
Only a jump back to the start of the timeline restarts the measurement

Spectrum

Fractional octave analyzer

An analyzer from 1/1 to 1/24 octave. A coarse setting shows the tonal balance at a glance; a fine one tells 200 Hz and 250 Hz apart instead of blurring them into one step.

1/1 to 1/24 octave, or Lin for the raw FFT bins
8192-point window up to 1/3 octave, 16384 from 1/6 on
Hold caps show the recent maximum
Display slope and decay, in the gear menu

Monitoring

Listening aids

Three listening aids sit in the same window as the meters. A reference file can take the place of the mix, with a level control of its own, so the louder of the two does not win by default. Low, mid and high can be soloed one at a time. A single band of the analyzer plays alone for as long as the pointer rests on it.

A reference file to A/B against, following the playhead, at its own level
LOW, MID and HIGH solo one range at a time, splits draggable
Hold a band in the analyzer to hear that band on its own

Details

Sample peak next to true peak, both held as session maxima
Analyzer shows instantaneous or RMS level
Stereo waveform as an oscilloscope with phosphor persistence
Band solo with 24 dB per octave crossovers, no added latency
The audio passes through unchanged unless a band is soloed or the reference is playing; an offline render is never touched
Window resizable, tooltips, an own default state
macOS: VST3 and AU. Windows: VST3

Download

Metering Cockpit is free, and the download is the whole plug-in. There is no account and no key file. The macOS installer contains VST3 and AU. For Windows there is a zip with the VST3; copy it into your VST3 folder.

Download free Read the manual

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