Mix Reference Analyzer — Compare Your Track to a Reference

An online mix and master analysis tool: upload your track and a reference track to get overlaid spectra, LUFS loudness, dynamics and stereo-field comparisons — and, most importantly, specific numbered recommendations for what to change in your mix to get closer to the reference.

How to compare a track to a reference

1
Upload your track

WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG or M4A — the file is processed right in your browser.

2
Upload the reference

A released track whose sound you want to aim for — ideally the same genre and similar mood.

3
Click “Compare”

In a few seconds you get a report: spectra, loudness, dynamics, stereo and prioritized recommendations.

4
Apply the advice

Fix the mix in your DAW item by item — or open “Music Mastering” to match the track to the reference automatically.

Compare your mix to a benchmark and see exactly what to fix

A
Your track
the mix to analyze
Drop your track or click to choose
MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A, WEBM, AIFF, OPUS, WMA, M4B, CAF ·
Loading file...
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B
Reference
the target to match
Drop the reference track or click
MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A, WEBM, AIFF, OPUS, WMA, M4B, CAF ·
Loading file...
0%
Need to inspect a single file without a reference? Audio Inspector
Decoding…
✓

🚦 Release readiness

Delivery spec

Objective requirements, identical in every genre. A file either meets them or it does not.

Mix defects

Artefacts audible regardless of style. These are hints, not a grade.

The check measures what can be measured in the signal. It does not hear the song — no meter can judge arrangement, lyrics or delivery.

💡 What to change in your mix

📈 Loudness & dynamics

Parameter Yours Reference Delta
Your track
Reference

Loudness × dynamics map: where your track and the reference sit relative to the streaming “green zone” (−16…−9 LUFS, PLR 8–15).

🎛️ Spectral balance

Your track Reference

Curves are loudness-normalized and tilted +4.5 dB/oct for readability — you are comparing the shape of the balance, not the level.

🌈 Spectrogram

Frequency over time: brighter = more energy. Toggle between your track and the reference.

🔊 Stereo field

Your track
Reference
Parameter Yours Reference Delta

🔧 Technical

🎧 Loudness-matched blind A/B

0:00 / 0:00
🔊 Both tracks are matched to the same loudness — you are comparing tone and dynamics, not “which is louder”. Keys A / B and space.
Listen as on

These are simplified models of systems, not a measurement of your particular phone: nothing here judges, you do. "Low volume" is the exact ISO 226 equal-loudness difference — precisely the bass and top you lose when you turn it down.

Apply this automatically?

Music Mastering will match the tonal balance, width and loudness to this reference and hand you a finished WAV or MP3.

Open Music Mastering

Features

Numbered advice, not just graphs
Not abstract curves but DAW actions: “add +2 dB around 4 kHz”, “ease the limiter”, “sum the low end to mono” — ranked by importance. Almost no competitor does this.
Overlaid spectra and per-band breakdown
Your track and the reference on one graph, plus a breakdown from sub-bass to “air” with concrete dB: where to boost, where to cut.
Loudness and dynamics by EBU R128
Integrated LUFS, oversampled true peak, LRA and peak-headroom PLR for both tracks — the same metrology streaming platforms use, and deeper than most online analyzers.
Stereo field and mono compatibility
Goniometer, correlation, side/mid width and a dedicated low-end check below 150 Hz — the things that make mixes fall apart in a club or on a phone.
Loudness-matched blind A/B
Compare your track and the reference at the same loudness — so you judge tone and dynamics, not the “louder is better” illusion.
One-file report
All the metrics and advice as text: paste into your notes or send to a vocalist, beatmaker or client.

FAQ

Can it tell which plugins were used on a track?

No — and this is a fundamental limitation, not a shortcoming of the algorithms. An audio file stores no processing history: different plugin chains produce indistinguishable results, so a “plugin list” cannot be extracted from an mp3. What can be measured is the sound itself — spectral balance, loudness, dynamics, stereo field — and from that you can work out what to change in your mix to get closer to a reference. That is exactly what this tool does.

How do I choose a reference track?

Pick a professionally released track in the same genre and a similar mood, ideally in good quality (FLAC/WAV or MP3 320). Comparing a ballad to EDM is pointless — they have different target spectra and dynamics.

Why are the spectrum curves “loudness-normalized”?

If you simply overlay two spectra, the louder track sits higher across the board and the shape of the balance is invisible. The tool normalizes both curves to the same average level and tilts them up slightly for readability; the loudness difference is shown separately in LUFS.

What are LUFS, true peak and PLR?

LUFS is integrated loudness per the EBU R128 standard — the value Spotify and YouTube level-match to. True peak is the peak of the reconstructed waveform including inter-sample overshoots. PLR is the difference between true peak and LUFS: the smaller it is, the harder the track is squeezed by the limiter (a healthy range is roughly 8–15 dB).

How is this better than auto-mastering like LANDR or eMastered?

Those services process the track immediately and hand you a file without explaining what was wrong. This does the opposite — you get a diagnosis and specific actions for your own DAW, keeping full control of the mix. And if you want a finished result in one click, “Music Mastering” is right next door.

Which formats can I upload?

WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, M4A/AAC and other formats the browser can decode; a fallback decoder handles the exotic ones. Both files are analyzed locally, long tracks included.

You May Also Like

🎚 Music Mastering ⚖️ Audio Comparator 🔬 Audio Inspector 🔍 Audio Forensics 🏷️ Audio Metadata Editor 🔎 Audio Microscope ✂️ Audio Splice Detector 🛡️ Audio Watermark

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Who is this tool for?
🎵 Musicians & Producers 🎙️ Podcasters 🎛️ Sound Engineers
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