Sample peak reads individual PCM values. True peak (dBTP) estimates the continuous waveform between those samples. Streaming codecs reconstruct that waveform. If true peak sits above about −1.0 dBTP, the encode can clip even when the WAV never touches 0 dBFS.

A bounce that “doesn’t clip in the DAW” can still crackle on a phone. The DAW is showing you samples. The store is showing the listener a reconstructed analog-like signal after AAC, MP3, or Opus. Between two legal samples there can be a peak the PCM grid never stored. True-peak meters oversample to estimate that peak. That estimate is the number that belongs on a release sheet.

Why −1.0 and not 0.0

Lossy codecs are not a bit-perfect pipe. They approximate. A −1.0 dBTP ceiling is the common streaming safety margin so the encoder’s reconstruction does not poke through 0 dBFS. Amazon is often stricter (−2.0 dBTP). If you only have time for one ceiling, use −1.0 and re-measure after the limiter, not before.

Place the true-peak limiter last in the delivery chain, after loudness. Loudnorm without a peak cap can still overshoot. CoProducer’s repair plan appends a limiter for that reason. It is boring. Boring is cheap compared with a recall.

A file can pass the sample meter and still fail delivery

BeatGoHard, on the public A/B, starts at −0.3 dBTP with zero clipped samples. After repair it sits at −1.0 dBTP and the score moves 77 → 95. Nothing about the arrangement changed. The ceiling did. That is the fastest win in this issue: if clips are already zero and you are only 0.7 dB over the ceiling, you do not need a new mix. You need a cap.

Crazy Stacy is harsher: +0.33 dBTP and 831 clipped samples before repair. After repair the clip count is zero; true peak is still +0.04, which CoProducer still paints red. Honest meters do not turn a leftover overshoot green because the story would look nicer.

Is 0 dBFS sample peak safe?

Not for streaming. Inter-sample peaks can still overshoot. Measure dBTP.

Can a limiter restore clipped transients?

No. It can stop new overs. Flattened peaks stay flattened. CoProducer’s report says so on purpose.