Dr R wrote:I was thinking more that if there were too many constant peaks at high amplitude it was unpleasant and grating. In which case negative units would imply something very strange that I can't quite think of an analogy for..
If high amplitude events drag the LUFS rating up and are unpleasant/grating, then these are surely the tiresome bits of this traumatic "real life" concept - work, bills, supermarkets full of angry sunburned people etc.
Thus negative units significantly reduce the total LUFS figure - sort of akin to sorting out the gain structure to find more sensible headroom and space for proper dynamic range. In this "real life" thing, these events are therefore rejuvenating and allow proper context for these otherwise unpleasant peaks, so I guess things like time pottering on the DAW, playing an instrument (with the possible exception of bagpipes), a nice picnic etc contribute a reduction in the overall LUFS value?
It's rather tenuous (turns out "real life" may not be quite as simple as audio signals ), but it's worth persevering with if it provides (pseudo)scientific justification for the more fun things