ABSTRACT
A true limiter has one critical task: to ensure that signals do not overshoot the threshold, no matter what. A limiter takes a different approach to the limiting task. The idea is still to have no signals overshooting the threshold, but a limiter employs means to soften the drastic effect of hard limiting. User control over these parameters could defeat the limiting task. As elementary as it may sound, limiters do not provide a replacement for compressors - they give people far less control over the final outcome. Limiters should not be used as a quick replacement for compressors. As long as the limiter operation is unnoticeable, people can push the level against it to raise the loudness of the source material. Limiters are often judged based on how hard the input level can be pushed before non-musical artifacts appear.
