Sonaris — Audio Quality Analyzer

Is this file what it claims to be, and is it fit for where it is going?

This page describes Sonaris 1.0.2, published on 7 May 2026.

Sonaris scans and grades music libraries, production archives, masters and distribution catalogues. It measures the true frequency content of each track, compares it with what the codec and bit rate should deliver, and assigns a grade from S to F.

It keeps the gathering of evidence apart from the delivery decision. Analysis collects measurements across a library; Delivery Check holds one master against a published loudness specification; Compare Audio sets two masters side by side through the same measurement pipeline.

Quality Grading

The grade reflects the highest frequency at which meaningful content is present, found by filtering the audio through progressively higher bands. Longer tracks that appear band-limited are checked again at their midpoint, and the stronger reading is kept.

Sonaris scan results with grades, cutoff frequencies, loudness, dynamic range and a spectrum view — Scan results, with the spectrum of a selected track

Absolute grades by measured spectral cutoff
Grade	Cutoff	Meaning
S	20 kHz or above	Full bandwidth, no perceptible loss
A	18 kHz or above	Near-transparent quality
B	16.5 kHz or above	Good quality
C	15 kHz or above	Acceptable for standard streaming
D	12 kHz or above	Audible high-frequency loss
F	Below 12 kHz	Severe loss, speech-grade or damaged audio

Mastering Assessment

Independently of the frequency grade, each track is assessed on its loudness and dynamics: integrated loudness to EBU R 128, loudness range, dynamic range and true-peak headroom. A recording can have a flawless spectrum and still be marked down for heavy compression or clipping.

Mastering ratings
Rating	Finding
Excellent	Dynamic range of 12 or more, proper headroom, ideal loudness range
Good	Dynamic range of 9 or more, minor headroom issues
Average	Dynamic range of 6 to 9, typical modern commercial mastering
Poor	Dynamic range below 6, heavy compression
Clipped	True peak at or above 0 dBTP, or clipped samples detected

Signal Integrity

The measurements that answer whether a file is honest: whether a lossless container holds lossy audio, whether twenty-four bits contain sixteen, whether the signal clips, and exactly where.

Upsampling: Flags lossy audio stored in a lossless container by comparing the measured cutoff with what the codec and bit rate should deliver.
Bit depth: Measures the effective resolution of 24-bit lossless files and marks padded 16-bit content.
Clipping: Counts samples at full scale, measures inter-sample true peak and reports the time windows that contain clipping.
Silence: Leading, trailing and mid-track silence, with durations and segment counts.
Stereo: Left/right correlation, identifying mono content, true stereo and phase inversion.
Multichannel: Loudness and peak for each channel of surround material, surfacing imbalances a downmix would hide.
Checksums: MD5 and SHA-256 for every analysed file, computed alongside the analysis.

Delivery Check

Choose a profile, choose a file, run the check. The result is a verdict with the failing checks named, the headline measurements, a chart placing the master inside the accepted range, and a table of each check against its requirement.

Delivery profiles
Profile	Scope	Programme loudness	True-peak ceiling
EBU R 128	European broadcast	−23 LUFS (−23.5 to −22.5)	−1.0 dBTP
ATSC A/85	US television	−24 LKFS, ±2 dB	−2.0 dBTP
AES TD1008	Internet audio	−20 to −16 LUFS	−1.0 dBTP

Compare Audio

Two files through one pipeline: the version you are evaluating and the reference you want to match. Every measurement is listed for both, with the signed difference and a flag that turns amber, then red, as the gap exceeds the tolerance for that measurement.

Format: Codec, sample rate, bit depth, channels, channel layout, duration and bit rate.
Loudness: Integrated, maximum short-term, maximum momentary and loudness range.
Dynamics: Dynamic range and true peak.
Integrity: Spectral cutoff, stereo correlation, DC offset, clipping and clip count.

Libraries and Reports

Sonaris is made for whole collections. Scans run in parallel with a live grade distribution, results are filtered by format, grade or status, and every finding can leave the application as a report.

Sonaris folder result view — A folder under review

Batch scanning: Configurable samples per folder, parallel workers and a per-file timeout.
Visual evidence: Waveform, spectrum, spectrogram, grade distribution and loudness and dynamic-range histograms.
Filtering: Search by name; filter by format, grade or status; isolate issues in one step.
Reports: CSV with one row per folder, structured JSON with every measurement per track, and a formatted text report.
History: Earlier scans with their grade breakdowns and dates.
Source profiles: An optional mode that grades against the practical ceiling of a known source, from CD and vinyl to broadcast and legacy formats.

In practice

Who it is for

Catalogue ingest

Validate incoming libraries for lossy transcodes hidden in lossless containers.

Master delivery

Verify programme loudness, true-peak ceiling and clipping against a published specification before release.

A/B verification

Confirm that a new master matches a reference on loudness, dynamics and spectral extent.

Archive audits

Profile large historical collections with consistent, repeatable criteria.

Compatibility

Supported formats

The file types Sonaris works with in its current release.

Lossy: MP3MP2AACM4AOGGOGAOPUSWMAMPC
Lossless and PCM: FLACWAVAIFFAIFAPETTAWVCAFAUSND
DSD and high resolution: DSFDFFTHDMLPMKA
Surround and broadcast: AC3EAC3DTSDTSHD
Voice: AMRSPXGSM
Game and console: BRSTMBCSTMAT3ADXHCAVGMSPCNSFPSFMINIPSFXAVOC

Editions

Free to use

Sonaris is freeware. The complete application is available without payment.

Sonaris Freeware

Free

Loudness, true peak, dynamics, spectrum and stereo measurement
Delivery checks, reference comparison and defect evidence
Batch folder analysis with TXT, CSV and JSON reports

Install with Studio Hub

Everything included in Sonaris.
Feature	Included
Analysis workspace
File and folder analysis	Included
Waveform, spectrum and spectrogram evidence	Included
Audio formats	FFmpeg-supported input
Measurements
Integrated loudness and loudness range	Included
True peak and dynamic observations	Included
Stereo correlation and multichannel checks	Included
Clipping, silence and technical defect findings	Included
Spectral bandwidth and edge observations	Included
Bit-pattern and provenance indicators	Included
Delivery and comparison
Technical delivery checks	Included
Audio reference comparison	Included
File checksums and integrity evidence	Included
Reports and workflow
Sessions and analysis history	Included
Exportable analysis reports	TXT, CSV, JSON

Technical measurements describe the decoded signal. Spectral and bit-pattern observations do not prove the original source, lossless ancestry or perceptual quality.

Use is governed by the License Agreement.

Requirements

System requirements

Minimum

Windows 10 (64-bit), version 1809 or later
Dual-core processor at 1.5 GHz
4 GB RAM
500 MB of free disk space

Asked and answered

Does a grade prove where a file came from?

No. Technical measurements describe the decoded signal. Spectral and bit-pattern observations do not prove the original source, lossless ancestry or perceptual quality. They tell you where to look.

Does Sonaris certify a master for a platform?

No. Delivery Check reports measurements against the published targets of each profile. Loudness targets are full-programme measurements; long-form dialogue delivery still requires dialogue-gated verification.

What does Sonaris cost?

Sonaris is freeware. The complete application is available without payment.

The Collection