Recording issues.

[philchenevert]

LUFS = loudness units relative to full scale

The exact setting will depend on whether you have varying height peaks or have used dynamic compression. For my recordings -22.5 LUFS comes in at ~89db in Checker.

Well that is disturbing. Hmmm. So obviously one setting cannot be recommended. By varying height peaks, you mean the algorithm works differently depending on peaks? A compressed file will be adjusted lower or higher? Well, gotta research this a lot more before making a video. Thanks for pointing this out. (why can't anything be simple!)

[knotyouraveragejo]

Like all amplification methods, the amount will depend on where the level starts and if there are spikes in the recording that would cause clipping. I'm no expert here, Phil. I'm sure there are others who can give you a more technical explanation.

[loon]

1. Is there a feature to make audio waves look bigger to help me know whether I talk too loud while recording? I usually know after using Effect>Normalise.

You can always grab the bottom edge of the track and expand its height to see what's going on more clearly.

There is also an alternate way to view the audio waveform - the pull down menu over at the left end of the audio track has a few options. The factory default is 'waveform' but you can switch to 'waveform (dB)' which exaggerates the middle levels. If you use this view the proper level is something like 4/5ths of the height of the track. Audacity remembers which mode you've picked and will use that until you change it again.

A very good way to tell how your volume is is just to watch the record level meter. If you see orange/red in the meter, your level is too loud.

[lurcherlover]

Whatever meter type you use make the initial recording, having a maximum peak of -8dB (or even -9 or -10 dB) will ensure a good quality recording. If you have to bump this up a bit (maybe to -5dB or even -4dB) when you make the final .MP3 file to be passed by the Checker program, then that is OK.