Mastering in Sound Forge Pro: chain, loudness and honest metering

Spotify recommends -14 integrated LUFS with true peak below -1 dBTP; for masters louder than -14 LUFS, it recommends below -2 dBTP. Its Normal playback setting targets -14 LUFS, while settings, devices and album-versus-playlist playback can change normalization behavior. Treat it as a verification target, not a law: dense rock, electronic, jazz, classical, CD, broadcast and podcast work may need different loudness decisions. Verify with Sound Forge Statistics instead of trusting how loud the master feels on your monitors.

No. The built-in workflow (Paragraphic EQ, Wave Hammer, Plug-In Chainer, LUFS normalization, Statistics and dither) covers competent stereo mastering. Ozone Elements is only relevant if your MAGIX-era Sound Forge Pro install actually bundled it, or if you already own Ozone as a separate VST.

Plan dither for final fixed-point quantization, such as a 16-bit CD version or a floating-point working master rendered to 24-bit integer. Do it once, after EQ, dynamics, limiting, normalization, sample-rate conversion and final gain changes. An unchanged integer copy needs no additional dither; use the destination and processor documentation to choose the final stage.

Statistics measures the selected audio and reports integrated LUFS, true peak, RMS and loudness range. Select the complete program and intended channels. Commit any real-time chain to a separate processed copy, reopen it without duplicate effects, then measure it; reopen and verify each final delivery after format conversion as well.