How To Fix Loud Noise Floor, RMS, and Peak Values in Audacity to Meet ACX Standards

Рет қаралды 19,166

Күн бұрын

There's no substitute for a high-quality initial recording. Taking necessary steps to get the best recording possible saves time and a lot of headaches in post-production cleanup. There's no substitute for a pristine recording. But sometimes that just doesn't happen for any number of reasons. In this video I show you one way to clean up the noise floor in our ACX recordings using the Noise Reduction effect in Audacity as well as setting the RMS and peak values.
Contents:
00:00 - Introduction
00:15 - ACX Noise Floor Requirements
00:35 - Example Waveform
01:01 - Initial ACX Check
01:30 - Setting the RMS Level
02:30 - Applying the Limiter
02:56 - Fixing the Noise Floor Using Noise Reduction
04:56 - ACX Check for Noise Floor Passed
05:17 - What is Noise Floor?
05:44 - The Importance of Recording Good Audio
06:24 - Wrap-Up
Enroll Now! ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity - www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/ac...
Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases):
- Synco D2 Hyper Cardioid Condenser Microphone amzn.to/3pQRbLm
- Zoom H6 Portable Recorder amzn.to/3TjMN4Z
- FUDESY 77 x 74 Collapsible Portable Retractable Green Screen amzn.to/3Cyv9V5
- 2022 MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro processor and 32 GB memory
Software I Used:
- Audacity Version 3.1.3
- Camtasia 2022
- Auphonic Desktop Leveler
Other places you'll find me:
- Learn Audacity: learnaudacity.com
- Audacity Bootcamp: Beginner to Advanced: learnaudacity.com/audacity-bo...
- ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity: learnaudacity.com/acx-audiobo...
- Zoom H6 Audio Recording Essentials: learnaudacity.com/zoom-h6-aud...
- Facebook: / learnaudacity
- TikTok (NEW!): / learnaudacity
- Instagram (NEW!): / learn_audacity

Пікірлер: 120

@joshstatly9220 Күн бұрын

This is perhaps the best video ive ever seen on this topic - amazing

@jorgesindonivielma994 2 ай бұрын

This guy is the number ONE. Thanks a lot buddy.

@HonniCaramel 10 ай бұрын

I'm also part of your fan club. Those reviews are super right. I want to hug you and squeeze you and call you George. Thank you for the clear and fast fix.

@MisterPotter Жыл бұрын

This is by FAR the best video I have seen on using audacity to meet Acx standards. Thank you!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@joanagarcia3083 3 ай бұрын

Oh my goodness, I have been searching and searching for this fix. You have just made my year. Thank you.

@sarahjackson1730 2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! You're the first person to explain this in a way that made sense, and now I am having SO MUCH less frustration in post-recording editing. I appreciate you immensely.

@MichaelMiller-ln3kn 10 ай бұрын

This video was HUGE for me. I saw the use of ACX check and set out to get the same ability. Make my project do-able. Thank you so much!

@maureenlefay 2 ай бұрын

Thank you! The noise floor issue about had me on the floor trying to fix it. This made it easy.

@linlin52 Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Just finishing a thirteen-chapter audiobook and one chapter failed on noise floor and you helped me fix it! I had spent all morning trying to fix it until I found your lesson.

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You're welcome

@andreadavis1116 Ай бұрын

Thank you!!! This is the most helpful video for audio recording! 👏🏽👏🏽

@gabriellegiselle 9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!! I passed all 3 and don’t have to redo the audio 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽😭

@TheBinaryWolf Жыл бұрын

Thanks for an excellent, no rambling, tutorial.

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You're welcome

@ajver6221 4 ай бұрын

Oh my goodness you're a savior!!! This has been killing me to get the right requirements and other videos don't show how to get all 3 to a correct level and never touch the subject of noise floor. You rock!!

@LearnAudacity 4 ай бұрын

Thanks. Glad to help!

@szattwellauthor Жыл бұрын

Thank you! This has been an immensely helpful video - very very much appreciated!

@earthoverthunder 9 ай бұрын

Wonderful video! Clear and concise. Much appreciated.

@justinyoungblood5894 7 ай бұрын

This is hands down one of your best videos Mike.

@user-im8oj8qf2s Жыл бұрын

absolutely an amazing tutorial, clear, concise, lots of images and just all around wonderful and calming voice !

@inagoodway Жыл бұрын

This was amazing! Thank you! I spent half the day trying to figure out this RMS thing. Thank you.

@richardjosephson 5 ай бұрын

Very clear, economy of words, well-illustrated, simple steps to accomplish what otherwise might be confusing.

@paddyvennerlifecoaching 9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - you spoke plain English and solved a major headache for me. Great job

@SurvivorDK Жыл бұрын

I laughed at the "Click It" joke :) excellent video!

@77shoemanable 8 ай бұрын

Nice examples. Thanks

@ChubbyAmadeusFan 11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much. You explained everything clearly. Much appreciated!

@Canon1DMkII Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tutorial. I learned a lot.

@ToddDolce Жыл бұрын

This was brilliant! Thank you for explaining this in such great detail and in a way that is easily understood WITHOUT feeling intimidated or stupid. Great stuff!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@annasorkos 8 ай бұрын

Wow. I watched three videos and couldn't get any help in the 3 main ACX pass/fail and I watched this video and in 3 minutes, you gave me the exact methods to resolve what several people took 20 minutes to get to after they talked about themselves. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH MIKE ADAMS!

@user-el1qd6pb9s Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the tutorial!

@69Storm1 Жыл бұрын

You're The MAN!!! Thank You For The Great Info!!!

@StarrGaither 2 ай бұрын

There was VERY helpful! Thank you!!

@taranestleroad4990 6 ай бұрын

THANK YOU!!! I've been watching videos and tweaking settings for hours and couldn't get both peak levels and RMS to pass. Just followed your steps exactly and passed! Amazing video. Bless you.

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

@Krazy_Shorts Жыл бұрын

I love these videos!

@BlankCanvasIndieFilms Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the help! I have been stuck on this for a while

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You're welcome

@Nkreddible Жыл бұрын

Thank you! This helped tremendously!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Excellent. Thanks!

@thing1145 9 ай бұрын

Very helpful. Liked & subscribed!

@malbeaty 8 ай бұрын

OMG!!! Thank you so much!!! The video just saved me so much valuable time!!!

@stephenwells1559 Жыл бұрын

Thank you 🙏🏻 It’s taken me an age to find this!!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You're welcome.

@esignsmedia 5 ай бұрын

Excellent Video

@Erikasway_ 6 ай бұрын

thank GOD for you i was almost in tears trying to figure this out!

@LearnAudacity 6 ай бұрын

You’re welcome. Glad I could help.

@ianfosterUSA Жыл бұрын

Absolutely fantastic thanks from the UK

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thank you

@SophiePeterActing 8 ай бұрын

Excellent! thank you...

@ekon01cz Ай бұрын

Grandpa on fire. Thanks for help man.

@UnboxerofWorlds Жыл бұрын

You, sir, are a legend.

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

That's a lot of pressure. :) But thank you!

@orangyorangefromspace Жыл бұрын

Thank you very, very much!😊

@Exdivestorroom Жыл бұрын

You sir, are a LIFESAVER!! Thank you!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

you're welcome.

@lbbruins7958 2 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@Adventureruler 5 ай бұрын

Thanks a bunch!

@NickPaulMagic Жыл бұрын

Thank you! This was very helpful!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You're welcome.

@Farfalla17 Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!!! You're amazing.

@louisemc3680 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant! Thank you so much! :)

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thanks! You're welcome.

@JoborPathok 7 ай бұрын

thank you soo much

@RekhaKaula 4 ай бұрын

Thanks a million!

@LearnAudacity 3 ай бұрын

You’re welcome.

@gaelicpros Жыл бұрын

LOL, I wondered if I had to keep wasting mouse clicks on that noise reduction for ACX levels! I've typically gotten the annoying "your noise level is too quiet. Dead silence is unnatural' You're SUCH a time saver ♥🐾🐾✨✨

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thank you. Always glad to help!

@SoComposed 8 ай бұрын

thank you thank you thaaaaank you!!!

@ClarkClydeNight 6 ай бұрын

Thank you!!

@LearnAudacity 6 ай бұрын

You’re welcome!

@eri7-11 6 ай бұрын

Thank you, you saved me!

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

Glad I could help!

@wernaldoproductions1215 Жыл бұрын

Great video! Thank you! I have the problem that the noisefloor is too low is there a fix for that as well? Thanks again

@aureliewhatthecut6689 3 күн бұрын

this video is amazing and has taught me a lot about audacity. I do have one small problem, when I adjust the RMS level, amazing, but when I then do the limiter, it screws the RMS again, and it never is entirely good. A little thing that is different from your video, is that my limiter is called normalise (for the RMS it's called normalise the amplitude). Do I need to install a new plugin or am I just using the wrong option? Thank you to anyone who will help me! 🤗

@PollyannaDarling 6 ай бұрын

Excellent and clear explanation, thank you. Your help fixed my peak noise. However, my noise floor is too low. What can I do about this?

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

Thank you. One way to correct low noise floor is to add a second track to your project of just room tone and then include both tracks in your export. I have a 30-minute file of room tone I can make available to you if that would help. If you like, email me at audacitybootcamp@gmail.com and I can get it to you. I think a video on this would be good too. Thanks for the idea. :)

@AffinityInspiration 3 ай бұрын

Really useful, thank you. Do you know how difficult it is to track this stuff down? The Noise Floor is a real pain to lower. I'm trying both Dynamic Mic and Condenser mics. I'm on a M2 Mac Mini and I mostly use a condenser mic. It's pretty good quality - but perhaps not the best. So thank you for this great tutorial, I've learnt a LOT.

@gingerhysell9505 Жыл бұрын

Hi Mike, I just purchased and learned from your fabulous class on "ACX Audiobook Production using Audacity." Awesome! It was exactly what I needed! The only thing missing in the class was in THIS video. If I needed to adjust noise floor levels like this, would I do it after applying the macros and during the final editing stage while dealing with any breath sounds, or would it become part of the macro chain itself? Thanks for all the help you're sending out to us newbies! Loved the class!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I'll include it when I update the class content later this summer. I would be hesitant to put it in a macro, but that's just me.

@StefinMiami 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this video! It helped me relax, and got all parts of my audio accompany to pass ACX check and the ACXlab. My audio accompany is only 10 minutes if read straight through. Would it be better to record the whole thing, get it passed then break it up? I'm only asking for the next project.

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

Apologies for the slow response. I like to record all at once as it makes it more uniform. If you record in pieces, make sure your recording environment is consistent and your mic technique is always the same.

@shevoncruz-carrion3204 Жыл бұрын

I followed all the steps and still do not meet the requirements and have no idea what I am doing wrong but I will look into your Using Audacity class. Thank you.

@CarlaBimbiBooks 5 ай бұрын

could I do that on multiple tracks at the same time? it will work?

@tomz58 11 ай бұрын

Please tell me how I can fix the noise floor too low warning from ACX check (it says "Unnatural")

@Mombierella Жыл бұрын

can you repeat the process if it still has too high a noise floor?

@inagoodway Жыл бұрын

I can't find where to download ACX check. I couldn't find it in the Plug-ins. Can anyone tell me where to find it?

@jasonjellie9342 Жыл бұрын

Question on the noisefloor. If your not killing your noise floor how do u make sure your floor is low enough that it’s not bringing in mic noise, especially in gaps where your not speaking? When ever I record my mic is constantly bouncing at just below 54 even when I’m silent, which I guess is not too bad but obviously there’s noise there. Granted my rooms untreated, which brings me to my next question. If I’m going to treat my room to get rid of ambience which could potentially stop my mic bouncing when I’m not speaking, how do you treat the ambience in a way your not killing your noise floor? Coz surely it’s the room ambience that’s preventing your floor from not being dead even if ur in a naturally echoey room no? Coz obviously if the noisefloor is too low it says “sounds unnatural”

@Latter-day_Artist 8 күн бұрын

I find that when I apply loudness normalization at -20db, I get multiple red clipping lines. I'm able to run it after applying a limiter, but then I end up applying limiter twice, to also get below -3db after the loudness normalization. Is running limiter twice going to create excessive compression? Other ideas? Thank you!

@BreakingTheCycleAuthor 12 күн бұрын

I don't have the soft limiter option. How can I get this?

@garyclement2888 5 ай бұрын

I just started recording my first Audio Book with ACX.I'm using version 3.4.2- My original recording is with a RodeCaster 2, then edit the audio in Logic ProX, and I was able to export and all my numbers pass ACX Audio test with one fail- RMS is -23.7. I'm having issues, but I will try your method. (Can you do this with my version 3.4.2 so I can understand better how to fix this?)

@skiphupp6387 6 ай бұрын

Thank you. Question: I don’t see the Limiter in the Effects column or anywhere on the interface.

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

Glad you found it.

@debbiesoelter9313 Жыл бұрын

Question….please help me understand why all of my levels pass before exporting but when I import again or export, my peak levels are at or around 2.8ish…why and thank you!!

@Bubble_Boba_ 4 күн бұрын

Any idea why mine doesn't have an ACX check?

@Mombierella Жыл бұрын

Yes fixed but so annoyed with this. Because the peaks go too high and it's like a seesaw. Noise floor too high peaks pass. Peaks pass noise floor too high ☹️

@slipthetrap Жыл бұрын

I took your udemy course and went on to narrate (voice over) a book I wrote and it has been for sale on Audible (ACX) ... everything worked as you taught. My question is will the macro's from that udemy course still work correctly with the upgrade to Audacity 3.2.5 ? Or am I missing updated information for that udemy course ? The de-clicker portion seems to run a really long time in the new Audacity, I don't remember that from before. I am more of a typical author, who can not afford voice over talent (maybe A.I. will fix that soon) and only does a book about once a year, so I tend to forget all of this audio+ACX+Audacity stuff. But having access to your KZfaq videos is a good refresher, but some other non-free tools (like iZotope) is way outside my means, but thanks again for your videos!

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking my course! Yes, the macros will still work in the new versions of Audacity. That de-clicker takes a long time for me too. It's a resource-hungry plugin for sure. But it works great! Happy narrating!

@juliamae3763 16 күн бұрын

My audacity doesn't have an "ACX check." I assume it's an add-on. When you use something that isn't standard, could you tell us how to get it? Or how to do the same thing with what we have?

@kritikabiswa6833 Жыл бұрын

Hi Mike! M new here. Trying to record audiobooks and learn audacity. I don't see the option ACX check. Please tell me what do i need to do. Thank you

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

You’ll find it under the Analyze drop-down menu. You might be interested in my course since you’re new to audiobooks and Audacity. Check it out. www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/acx-audiobook-production-using-audacity

@ExposedByJools 4 ай бұрын

Hi there I am 58 and have fibrofog so need an idiots guide to this. I did 3 books for ACX that were fine now I am back audacity has changed and it says I pass at 65.0 but ACX want me under 60.0 and I can't fathom what to do. The minus thing messes with my head and I can't make it all make sense. Any help would be great thanks. :0)

@GutierrezBeauty 4 ай бұрын

How did you get an acx check option via analyze option?

@LearnAudacity 3 ай бұрын

Try here. plugins.audacityteam.org/analyzers/analysis-plugins

@andresbarcelo Жыл бұрын

When I edit this noise reduction it ruins the peak and rms levels when I follow this method. I don't know how to fix it without effecting the other items.

@LearnAudacity Жыл бұрын

Try doing it first, before setting peak and RMS.

@andresbarcelo Жыл бұрын

@@LearnAudacity That helped thanks. Wish it wouldn't distort my voice so much.

@tomhaire5027 6 ай бұрын

It seems so much louder than expected. Is this a normal production that will be different on Audible?

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

As long as your peak and RMS levels are within specs, you should be good to go. If you over-compress it can make it sound a little too loud as compressing can raise the quieter parts. Keep compression to a minimum.

@JzR0911 Ай бұрын

why does my audacity dont have a limiter option

@skiphupp6387 6 ай бұрын

I found the Limiter.

@LearnAudacity 5 ай бұрын

Yay!!

@thekarmafarmer608 Ай бұрын

Absolutely fantastic. Like and subscribe, er ye 😇

@PolinGuira 6 ай бұрын

YOU ONLY NEED NOISE REDUCTION, AND CLEAN ALL BACKGROUND NOISE

@ahfimiwonawun Жыл бұрын

I don’t know why I’ve been thinking that acx didn’t want any unnatural means of lowering the noise floor. Ok, so I don’t need that 700 dollar booth then!

@AffinityInspiration 3 ай бұрын

After a number of hours, lower one, the other one goes up. Lower it, the other one goes up. This is like herding cats...

@MichelleHill82 14 күн бұрын

Hello, did you get that worked out? I am experiencing the same thing it was very moment.