dBFS

dBFS, decibels relative to full scale, is how digital audio measures level. Unlike analog scales, digital audio has a hard ceiling at 0 dBFS, the loudest value a digital system can represent. Any signal that tries to go higher gets clipped, producing a harsh, crackly distortion that editing software cannot undo.

Because 0 dBFS is a wall rather than a soft limit, podcasters aim to record well below it. A common target is keeping average speech around -18 to -12 dBFS during recording, which leaves headroom for unexpected peaks like laughter, a raised voice, or a mic bump, without pushing the signal into clipping.

Most recording software and interfaces show a real-time meter in dBFS, usually a moving bar that turns yellow or red as it nears zero. Watching this meter during the first minute of a session, rather than only checking levels after the fact, is the easiest way to avoid a ruined take that only gets discovered once editing begins, when re-recording is no longer simple.