Pan law is the rule your DAW or console follows to keep a mono sound at a steady loudness as you sweep it from left to right. Without one, a track would jump in level as it crosses the centre. In practice, -3 dB is the right default for most stereo speaker and headphone mixes, and -6 dB is the safer pick when the music will be summed to mono. The rest of this guide explains why, what the odd-looking options like -4.5 dB and "compensated" actually do, and how to avoid the classic trap of a mix that sounds different in another session.
TL;DR
- A pan law sets how much level a mono track loses (or how much the sides gain) so that its loudness stays consistent as you pan it.
- -3 dB suits stereo loudspeaker listening. -6 dB suits mono-summed playback. -4.5 dB is a legacy compromise from analogue hardware.
- Pan laws are not universal: the same mix can feel different in another DAW or session if the setting differs, so check it and write it down.
- "Compensated" variants keep the centre level and boost the sides instead, which changes where your headroom goes.
- Headphones change how panning feels, but pan law itself is a gain rule, not a headphone fix.
Table of Contents
- What pan law actually is
- Why the numbers are -3 dB and -6 dB
- What your DAW gives you
- Pan law is not universal: the session-transfer trap
- Choosing your setting by delivery format
- Pan law, panning habits and headphones
- How pan law affects real mix decisions
- Our perspective
- Check your mix in mono and on the move
- Common mistakes to avoid
- FAQ
- Sources
What pan law actually is
A panning law defines how a DAW or hardware mixer handles the gain of a mono signal as it moves across the stereo field. The goal is a consistent perceived volume during the sweep. Without one, a signal would sound louder in the centre, because two identical channels adding together raise the output level.
Think of it like this. Put a vocal hard left and it comes out of one speaker only. Move it to the centre and the same vocal comes out of both speakers at once. Your ears (and the maths) hear that as louder. The pan law quietly turns the vocal down by a set amount at the centre so the move feels level. Wikipedia's overview describes the underlying principle: identical signals in both channels of a stereo system gain loudness of up to about 6 dB compared with one channel.
There are two ways a system can do it, and both exist in the wild:
- Attenuate the centre. Both channels drop as the pan control approaches the middle. Hard-panned signals sit at full level.
- Boost the sides. One channel rises as you move away from the centre. This is the "compensated" family you will see in some DAWs.
Neither is wrong. They give you the same relative balance but a different absolute level, which matters when you look at meters and set headroom.
Why the numbers are -3 dB and -6 dB
The two classic values answer two different questions.
-3 dB: constant perceived loudness on speakers. According to Sound On Sound, a -3 dB centre attenuation matches how two speakers sum acoustically in a room, so the perceived volume stays steady across the sweep. This is the standard for stereo speaker mixing.
-6 dB: constant level when the channels are summed. If your music will be collapsed to mono, for example on some radio chains or club systems, -6 dB prevents a level bulge for centred material. The centre does not get louder in the mono sum than the sides.
Engineers often mix these two goals up. One is about how things feel in a room with two speakers. The other is about how electrical signals add. They are different decisions, and they point to different settings depending on where the music ends up.
What about -4.5 dB?
It sits halfway between the two. Hugh Robjohns, Sound On Sound's technical editor, explains that the compromise setting exists largely as a legacy solution from analogue hardware, where you could not switch laws on the fly. In a DAW you can choose, so a producer who knows the delivery format should pick -3 dB or -6 dB on purpose rather than lean on a compromise because it sounds "in the middle".
My personal take: -4.5 dB is not bad, it is just undecided. If you cannot say why you are using it, that is the sign to choose one of the other two.
What your DAW gives you
Most DAWs expose pan law somewhere in project settings, and the defaults and ranges differ.
| DAW | Options you will see | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Tools | -2.5 dB, -3 dB, -4.5 dB, -6 dB | -3 dB is the default, and it is fixed at -3 dB when mixing in surround |
| Logic Pro | 0 dB to -6 dB, with compensated variants | Set in project settings, per Apple's documentation |
| Other DAWs | Varies | Look for "pan law", "pan depth" or "pan rule" in project or mixer settings |
In Logic, the difference between the normal and compensated versions is easy to miss. Apple explains that selecting -3 dB gives you a -3 dB level decrease at the centre, while -3 dB Compensated keeps the centre level the same and adds +3 dB when a signal is panned hard left or right.
So with a compensated law, a hard-panned guitar is 3 dB hotter than the same guitar would be under the plain -3 dB law. Your balance is identical, but your true peaks and bus levels are not. If you are watching headroom, that is worth a look, and our guide to mix headroom and the -3 to -6 dBFS rule covers the other half of that conversation.
Pan law is not universal: the session-transfer trap
This is where pan law bites in real projects. Settings are not the same across DAWs or consoles, and a mix that feels balanced in one session can feel disjointed in another host when the law differs, because elements panned near the centre change level relative to everything else.
It shows up in practical ways:
- A lead vocal that sat nicely now feels slightly buried or slightly forward after you import stems into a new project.
- A mix you bounced as stems and rebuilt for a collaborator feels "off" even though every fader matches.
- Sessions moved between studios sound different, and nobody can say why.
The fix is boring but effective. Check the pan law the moment you open any project that did not start with you, and note it in your session notes or delivery sheet. If you are sending a session on, state the pan law in the handover. If you are printing stems, remember that the pan law has already been applied to anything panned, so the stem carries it.
A quick check for any project
- Open project settings and read the current pan law.
- Pan a test tone (mono, steady level) from hard left to the centre while watching a meter.
- Note the difference in dB. It should match the setting.
- Write the setting in your session notes.
That takes about two minutes and removes a whole category of "why does this sound different" mysteries.
Choosing your setting by delivery format
Here is a simple way to decide. Ask where the music will mostly be heard.
- Streaming, headphones, home speakers, studio monitors: use -3 dB. It matches stereo speaker summing, and it is the default in many DAWs for that reason.
- Mono-heavy playback (some radio, club or public-address systems, background-music setups): consider -6 dB so centred elements do not jump in the sum.
- Unsure or mixed use: start at -3 dB, then check your mix in mono. If the centre elements rise or fall noticeably, make a conscious decision rather than defaulting to a compromise.
Whichever you pick, Hugh Robjohns recommends choosing by primary delivery format and checking project settings early, because even a small difference in centre attenuation can change how a vocal or lead sits against panned elements.
Mono compatibility also depends on more than pan law. Mike Senior points out that panning any mono track off-centre reduces its level in the mono balance by a maximum of around 3 dB, and that phase relationships between stereo elements are the other big issue. Pan law handles the level side. Phase is a separate check.
Pan law, panning habits and headphones
Pan law is a gain rule. It does not change how hard-panned sounds feel in your ears, but your panning choices and your monitoring do.
On headphones each ear hears one channel only, with no acoustic bleed from the other side. That is why a hard-panned sound can feel detached or fatiguing. Mike Senior notes that hard panning can create a dislocated image on headphones, which is why many professionals limit hard panning to roughly 85% to keep the stereo picture cohesive.
Then there is crossfeed, which readers often ask about. Crossfeed blends a little of each channel into the opposite ear to make headphone listening feel closer to monitors. It is a monitoring tool. It does not replace pan law, and you should not print it into your mix. Use it as a reference to judge width and placement, then switch it off when you check your final balance, and compare on speakers or earbuds too.
If you mix on cans a lot, our guides to mixing on headphones and ear fatigue while mixing go deeper, and the producer's guide to panning in mixing covers where to actually place things.
How pan law affects real mix decisions
You do not need to obsess over it, but a few situations make it matter.
Vocals and other centre-anchored sources
Centre sources are the ones most affected by a law change. Under -3 dB they sit 3 dB lower than at the sides. Switch to -6 dB and the centre drops further relative to hard-panned elements, so a vocal may need a nudge up to hold its position. This is one reason balance sounds different between projects. Our mix balance guide is a good companion if the vocal never quite sits.
Double-tracked guitars and wide pairs
Hard-panned pairs are barely affected by the law, because they are at the extremes. A left and right guitar pair will hold their level whatever the setting, but the centre will move around them. When you change the law, the centre is what you re-balance, not the sides.
Gain staging
The law changes levels before your plugins see them, so it feeds into gain staging whether you like it or not. If a compensated law is boosting hard-panned tracks by 3 dB, a bus compressor downstream will react differently. For a refresher on keeping levels sane through the chain, see gain staging in mixing.
Stereo tracks versus mono tracks
Pan laws are usually applied to mono sources panned across the field. Stereo tracks use a balance control or a stereo pan with different behaviour depending on the DAW. Check how your DAW treats them before assuming a stereo bus element follows the same rule.
Our perspective
We see pan law as one of those settings that looks small and quietly shapes a lot. When producers send us a mix for analysis, the questions that come up around balance, centre weight and stereo width often trace back to level decisions made long before the plugins, and the pan law is part of that chain.
Our view is simple. Pick the law that matches where the music will be heard, write it down, and then stop thinking about it. Do not let it become a reason to avoid a conversation about the real balance problems: a vocal that is too quiet, a kick and bass fighting for the same space, a stereo field that collapses in mono.
That is also why we built reports that give both subjective guidance and objective measurement. A number such as a mono-sum level change tells you something real, and a human-informed judgement tells you what to do about it. Our evaluation framework is updated to reflect current genre standards, so the advice reflects what listeners expect today rather than a fixed rulebook.
— AubioMix
Check your mix in mono and on the move
Pan law is easiest to understand when you hear its effect. Here is a quick routine to run on any mix:
- Flip to mono on your master. Do centred elements (vocal, kick, snare, bass) stay at roughly the same balance? If they jump, think about delivery format and pan law.
- Sweep a mono source from centre to hard left and listen for level changes. If it feels louder at the sides, the law may be too deep or the compensation too strong for your taste.
- Compare in another DAW or player. Bounce a quick stereo mix and play it back in a neutral player, then check against your session meters.
- Test on headphones and a small speaker. Hard-panned parts can feel detached on headphones, and a narrow, mono-style speaker will show you how the centre holds up.
If you want an outside set of ears on all of that at once, that is exactly what we built the app for. Upload a bounce and our report flags issues across 15+ areas, including stereo width, phase, loudness and device translation, with specific steps to fix them. A single Mix Review costs £4.99, and a Reference Pass is £2.99. If you are mixing regularly, the Professional plan is £19.99 per month and Professional + is £34.99 per month, all on the pricing page.
If you work in a specific genre, our genre benchmarks show real measured data, so you can compare your own stereo and loudness numbers with where your style normally sits.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing -4.5 dB because it "sounds in the middle". Pick the law that fits the delivery format instead.
- Never checking the setting in imported sessions. Always read it first.
- Changing the law halfway through a mix. Your balance will shift. Decide at the start, or re-balance the centre afterwards.
- Ignoring compensated laws when watching peaks. The sides can be hotter than you think.
- Treating pan law as a mono-compatibility fix. It addresses level, not phase.
FAQ
What is pan law?
Pan law is the rule that decides how much level a mono signal loses (or how much the sides gain) as you pan it, so it sounds equally loud wherever it sits in the stereo field. It exists because identical signals in two speakers add up and sound louder in the centre. Settings are usually expressed in dB, such as -3 dB or -6 dB.
Which pan law should I use for mixing?
For stereo speakers and headphones, -3 dB is the standard choice, since it matches how two speakers sum in a room. For music that will play in mono, -6 dB is usually preferred. If you are unsure, start at -3 dB and check your mix in mono.
Is pan law applied to the exported audio?
Yes, in the sense that it is part of how your DAW calculates the levels of panned tracks, so the bounce carries the result. That is why stems printed under one law will not match if you rebuild them under another. Note the setting whenever you hand sessions or stems on.
Does headphone crossfeed change the pan law?
No. Crossfeed is a monitoring effect that blends a bit of each channel into the opposite ear to mimic speaker listening. Pan law is a gain rule inside your mixer. Use crossfeed to judge width, and do not print it into the mix.
Why does my mix sound different in another DAW?
Pan law is one common cause, since defaults and options differ between hosts, and centre-panned elements shift in level when the law differs. Check the pan law first, then compare panning, plugin latency and metering.
Sources
- Q. What pan-law setting should I use? (Sound On Sound)
- Processing Stereo Audio Files (Sound On Sound)
- Q. Are there any panning rules for maintaining mono compatibility? (Sound On Sound)
- General Audio project settings in Logic Pro for Mac (Apple Support)
- Panning law (Wikipedia)
- Stereo Pan Depth: Why It's Important For Metering (Production Expert)
- What is Crossfeed and Should You Use It When Mixing on Headphones (Audio Tech Expert)