loudness-mix-review

name	loudness-mix-review
description	Review an interactive or linear mix for intelligibility, balance, dynamic range, loudness, frequency masking, user controls, platform translation, and state consistency.

Loudness and Mix Review

Use when audio assets or an assembled experience need final mix validation.

Procedure

1. Define the listening context, target platforms, playback environments, applicable loudness specification, and priority hierarchy among dialogue, critical cues, music, ambience, and effects.
2. Measure relevant loudness and peak values using the project's accepted standard while also listening for perceptual balance.
3. Review dialogue and critical information for intelligibility under the loudest realistic combinations of music, ambience, and effects.
4. Check frequency masking, transient competition, stereo or spatial clutter, bass buildup, and excessive high-frequency fatigue.
5. Review dynamic range across quiet and loud states and verify compression, limiting, and ducking behave naturally rather than flattening every event.
6. Test user volume controls, mute states, pause or background behavior, device changes, and accessibility-related audio options where applicable.
7. Listen on representative output classes such as headphones, speakers, mobile or laptop, or target hardware rather than one studio setup only.
8. Compare transitions between scenes or states so perceived loudness does not jump unexpectedly unless intentional.

Decision rules

• Meter targets support a good mix but do not replace listening in context.
• Dialogue and critical feedback normally outrank decorative ambience.
• Do not solve every balance problem by globally compressing dynamic range.
• Review the assembled experience because individually normalized files can still mix poorly together.

Quality gate

The mix passes when priority content remains intelligible, loudness and peaks meet the applicable target, dynamics and transitions feel intentional, user controls behave correctly, major playback contexts translate acceptably, and no recurring masking or fatigue issue remains.