My 1 minute test - Gary Martin

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » January 18th, 2024, 9:34 am

Absolute neophyte here, recorded using Audacity and a Fifine Studio Condenser USB Mic - T669

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/spc248_theroadnottaken_gmc_128_mp3.mp3

Sample has been extensively edited as I muddle about and learn editing as I go

AnEagle · Post by **AnEagle** » January 18th, 2024, 10:52 am

Can you read any book for 1 minute. Does it need to be from recommended ones?z

Thx!

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 18th, 2024, 10:56 am

AnEagle wrote: ↑January 18th, 2024, 10:52 am Can you read any book for 1 minute. Does it need to be from recommended ones?z

Thx!

It can be anything, but we prefer the Peter Piper script from the 1-minmute test instructions.

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 18th, 2024, 11:01 am

GaryMCunningham wrote: ↑January 18th, 2024, 9:34 am Absolute neophyte here, recorded using Audacity and a Fifine Studio Condenser USB Mic - T669

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/spc248_theroadnottaken_gmc_128_mp3.mp3

Sample has been extensively edited as I muddle about and learn editing as I go

Your technical settings are all correct, so well done. There does seem to be some audible distortion. Was Noise Reduction used? If any processing was used, I would like to hear a completely unprocessed file.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » January 22nd, 2024, 1:01 pm

Hi SJ. Yes, Noise Reduction was used. Not sure what an unedited recording will provide you in regards to insights but, per your request:

https://audio.com/gary-martin/audio/original-spc248-the-road-not-taken-gmc-128-copy

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 22nd, 2024, 1:47 pm

GaryMCunningham wrote: ↑January 22nd, 2024, 1:01 pm Hi SJ. Yes, Noise Reduction was used. Not sure what an unedited recording will provide you in regards to insights but, per your request:

https://audio.com/gary-martin/audio/original-spc248-the-road-not-taken-gmc-128-copy

So I can determine if there is too much noise removal or some other cause. The noise floor is extremely low at -78db. The target is only -60.

I cannot download the file from the link above. Please upload it as an mp3 file just like the first one, just with another name. Thanks.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » January 23rd, 2024, 2:30 pm

Sorry about that, try this one: https://audio.com/gary-martin/audio/original-spc248-the-road-not-taken-gmc-128mp3

Thanks for the feedback re Noise Floor level.

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 23rd, 2024, 3:39 pm

Link doesn't work. Needs to end in .mp3. This is a link to your pic or something.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » January 23rd, 2024, 5:33 pm

Trying again:

https://audio.com/gary-martin/audio/original-spc248-the-road-not-taken-gmc-128mp3

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 23rd, 2024, 6:40 pm

Still no good. The file must be .mp3. Not -mp3. DOT mp3. Just like your first post, it must be an mp3 file. Make a new recording a few seconds long and export it as an mp3 from Audacity and then upload it. I don't care what you record. Name it anything. I just want to hear what your raw recordings sound like.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » January 23rd, 2024, 7:49 pm

The issue was I was posting the direct link from Audio.com. Instead, I've used the Librivox uploader and uploaded the original, untouched recording here.

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/ORIGINAL_spc248_The_Road_Not_Taken_GMC_128_mp3.mp3

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » January 24th, 2024, 10:20 am

That helps me a lot. Question: What is audio.com for?

Anyway, here's the dealio. Your raw recording volume is very low at 74.3db. You want your raw recording to be more like 82. But there isn't the distortion.

I used Effect>Loudness Normalization set to -25db RMS first to adjust the volume, which came in at 86.7db in Checker. That audio failed Checker for background noise, but just barely. I applied Noise Reduction set to -10 reduction, and it passes without distortion. Using NR to get to -78db was just too much reduction, and it was distorting your audio.

(BTW, I note other background noises, like slamming doors. You'll be expected to edit those out.)

Does all this make sense? Try it yourself and post another test, which I expect will be OK.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » February 6th, 2024, 11:45 am

Audio.com is the Cloud based site at which Audacity files can be stored.

Per your request, another sample:

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/ACX_Audition_Norse_GM.mp3

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » February 6th, 2024, 2:32 pm

This audio is 86kbps variable bit rate, and volume 77db. Audio must be 128kbps constant bit rate and between 86 and 92db. The noise floor is -98db, which is near silent. This only happens with noise reduction or a noise gate. The only issue with your first test was distortion from excess noise removal - the other settings were correct.

Your raw recording should look like this:

If you are unsure of the Audacity settings, refer to the pinned post at the top of this forum. It has screen shots of all the correct settings in Audacity.

So, give it another try.

GaryMCunningham · Post by **GaryMCunningham** » February 8th, 2024, 2:55 pm

OK, how's this:

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/How_to_Manipulate_Time_narrated_by_Gary_Martin_for_Librivox.mp3