What does integrated loudness refer to?

• A. The average loudness of the entire program
• B. The maximum peak level within a program
• C. The average background noise level
• D. The loudness at the loudest moment

Answer: (A)

Integrated loudness is the overall loudness of a program measured across its entire duration, using a standard loudness weighting and integration over time. It yields a single value (often in LUFS or LKFS) that reflects how loud the program feels as a whole, taking into account the human ear’s sensitivity to different frequencies and the varying content throughout the duration.

This is different from a peak measurement, which looks at the highest instantaneous level, or from background noise alone, or from the loudest moment. Those other metrics address separate aspects (instantaneous peaks, noise floor, or a single moment) rather than the cumulative, perceived loudness of the whole program.

So, integrated loudness corresponds to the average loudness of the entire program.