Production and recording · updated 2026-08-16
HEADROOM
The space left between your loudest peak and the point of digital clipping. Leave some for the mastering engineer.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS
Free, primary references for headroom — standards bodies, manufacturers, government offices and university course material.
RELATED TERMS IN PRODUCTION AND RECORDING
- Sample rate
- Bit depth
- Latency
- Gain staging
- Polar pattern
- Phantom power (48V)
- Comping
- Bounce / render / export
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