0dBFS

Overview

The term "0dBFS" is used to describe the absolute peak level of a digital audio signal and is an abbreviation for "zero decibels full scale."

Basics

In digital audio; the possible range of recorded audio extends from "digital silence" or "all bits equal zero" to "full scale" or "all bits equal one." Digital silence, as the name implies, is the total absence of any audio signal. Full scale is the loudest level an audio signal can reach before some of the original information is lost due to "clipping." The effect is very similar to the effect of an analog circuit "clipping" the top and bottom off of the audio waveform.

Because digital audio is basically linear; the most important level when recording is the loudest level. In the vast majority of cases, the digital level is displayed with "0db" representing full scale and all other levels represented as a "minus" value in dB's below that level.