diff --git a/src/dwarfs/compression/flac.cpp b/src/dwarfs/compression/flac.cpp
index c1ada95a..372a3c7a 100644
--- a/src/dwarfs/compression/flac.cpp
+++ b/src/dwarfs/compression/flac.cpp
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ class flac_compression_factory : public compression_factory {
   std::unique_ptr<block_compressor::impl>
   make_compressor(option_map& om) const override {
     return std::make_unique<flac_block_compressor>(
-        om.get<uint32_t>("level", 6), om.get<bool>("exhaustive", false));
+        om.get<uint32_t>("level", 5), om.get<bool>("exhaustive", false));
   }
 
   std::unique_ptr<block_decompressor::impl>