MasterCheck v2 by NUGEN Audio — Streaming Loudness Checker for Final Masters

Delivery is where good masters go to be surprised. A cue that sounded powerful in the studio comes back from a streaming platform quieter, duller or strangely rebalanced, because each service normalises differently and encodes lossily on the way. NUGEN Audio MasterCheck v2 exists to end that surprise. It is a professional loudness metering and mix translation plugin that shows you, in real time and before you submit, exactly how your master will fare against the requirements of streaming services and broadcast standards.

Every Platform Target, One Metering Session

MasterCheck v2 ships with pre-configured presets for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Netflix, Tidal and Amazon Music, alongside broadcast standards. Its metering covers EBU R128 and ATSC A/85 compliance, with integrated loudness, short-term and momentary readings and true peak measurement displayed simultaneously in a clear professional interface. A dynamic range display shows loudness range and dynamic density, so the trade-off between impact and platform behaviour is a decision you make, not an outcome you discover.

True peak limiting preview lets you hear how your master will sound after platform normalisation before delivery, which changes mastering from compliance-checking into creative control. Reference A/B comparison against a loudness-matched reference track adds an objective second opinion: your master and the reference at the same loudness, judged on tone and balance alone.

Codec Auditioning and Translation Checks

The feature mastering engineers cite most is codec auditioning. MasterCheck v2 previews your audio through MP3, AAC and other codec simulations, revealing the encoding artefacts — the smeared transients, the altered high end — that only appear after compression. Catching those at the mastering stage means fixing them with intent rather than explaining them after release. A headphone translation check simulates typical consumer headphone responses, verifying how the mix reads away from studio monitors, where much of the audience will actually hear it.

For score delivery the workflow is direct: mix and master the cue, run it against the destination preset — a streaming album release, a broadcast dub, a podcast feed — and adjust once, with the meter confirming the result. Post-production engineers working to broadcast loudness standards, producers self-mastering releases, and podcast producers meeting platform requirements all use the same session to remove the same uncertainty.

Facts and Compatibility

MasterCheck v2 is a Mac release running on macOS 10.13 or later, in VST3, AU and AAX formats, compatible with Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Nuendo, Cubase and all major professional DAWs. Documented features include multi-platform loudness presets, EBU R128 and ATSC A/85 metering, true peak limiting preview, codec auditioning for MP3 and AAC, headphone translation simulation, loudness range display and loudness-matched reference comparison. Delivery is instant, with licence and installer supplied immediately after purchase. In an era when the platform, not the studio, has the final word on level, MasterCheck v2 lets you hear that word first.

For soundtrack releases, the album context is where MasterCheck v2 quietly pays for itself. A score album is a sequence of cues mastered at different times, sometimes by different hands, yet it is normalised by platforms as a single programme. Running the assembled album through the relevant streaming preset exposes the cue-to-cue loudness relationships exactly as listeners will experience them, so sequencing and level decisions can be corrected before release rather than debated after. The same session doubles as a quality-control pass for true peaks that only appear when cues are crossfaded together.

Podcast and spoken-word producers use the same toolkit for a different deadline: platform loudness targets for spoken content are unforgiving, and a series that drifts in level from episode to episode sounds amateur immediately. A MasterCheck preset per show, checked before export, keeps every episode inside the target and consistent with the last.