Sound & signal
Limiter vs compressor
Both reduce dynamic range. A compressor turns down loud signals gradually by a ratio; a limiter stops them passing a ceiling at all. A limiter is a compressor with an extreme ratio and a fast attack.
In practice
A limiter protects a ceiling, a compressor shapes a sound. Neither makes a club louder — the system already limits.
On a mixer with either fitted, use them sparingly and for a reason: a touch of compression to glue a thin record into a set, never as a permanent setting. Understand that the venue’s processor is limiting downstream regardless, so anything you squash arrives at a limiter with less left to work with. If a track feels weak against the ones around it, the fix is gain matching and EQ rather than dynamics processing — that is a different problem wearing the same symptom.
Ratio
What a compressor applies
Ceiling
What a limiter enforces
Downstream
Where the club limits anyway
Where these come from: The definitional difference between the two processors and standard club practice — not catalog figures. For what we can measure, see the protective one.
Why it matters
For a DJ the distinction is mostly about who is using it and why. A limiter is protective — it exists at the end of a chain to stop something exceeding a level, and the club’s system has one whether you like it or not. A compressor is shaping — it changes how a sound behaves rather than capping it.
The mistake worth avoiding is reaching for either to make a mix louder. A club system is already limited and its ceiling is set by someone else, so adding your own compression removes dynamics without adding level, and the room hears exactly that: flatter, not bigger.
Frequently asked
Is a limiter just an extreme compressor?+
Essentially yes — a very high ratio with a fast attack. The difference in practice is intent: one caps a ceiling, the other shapes dynamics.
Should a DJ use compression on the master?+
Rarely, and never as a way to get louder. The venue’s system is limiting downstream, so your compression removes dynamics without raising the level anyone hears.
Why does a track sound weak next to the others?+
Almost always gain and mastering rather than dynamics. Match it on the meters and adjust EQ before reaching for a compressor.
Related terms
Limiter
A limiter is a compressor with an absolute ceiling: it lets everything through until a set level, then refuses to exceed it. Mastering engineers use one on every record you own.
Compressor
A compressor reduces the level of anything above a threshold, narrowing the gap between the loud and quiet parts. The result can then be turned up as a whole, which is how records get their density.
Headroom
Headroom is the gap between where your signal is sitting and the point where it distorts. It is the room left for the loud parts, and for whatever you do to the channel next.
Gain normalisation
Gain normalisation sets every track to the same measured loudness automatically, so a quiet record and a loud one arrive at the channel matched. It corrects for mastering, not for how hard a record hits.
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