new 1-minute test [OK]

Abby · Post by **Abby** » January 28th, 2024, 12:50 pm

Hey folks!

I haven't recorded anything for LibriVox in a very long time, and am hoping to get back into it. Here is my test audio: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_abby.mp3. I've had issues with the audio levels before, and this is the highest I can get the audio intake without editing. I think it could use some amplification and/or leveling, as well as a light noise clean, but I would be very grateful for any suggestions on settings.

Winnifred · Post by **Winnifred** » January 28th, 2024, 1:05 pm

Abby wrote: ↑January 28th, 2024, 12:50 pm Hey folks!

I haven't recorded anything for LibriVox in a very long time, and am hoping to get back into it. Here is my test audio: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_abby.mp3. I've had issues with the audio levels before, and this is the highest I can get the audio intake without editing. I think it could use some amplification and/or leveling, as well as a light noise clean, but I would be very grateful for any suggestions on settings.

Welcome back, Abby!

Your volume is fine and the background noise is not all that loud, but the format (bit rate mode and quality) are incorrect, being 99 kbps (variable). Those should be 128 kbps (constant). Check out this post for information about your initial setup and how to correct this (with screenshots showing how to set these up in Audacity 3.4.2, so if you're using a different version or another program, it might not be quite what you see).

I also noticed a few soft plosives on your p sounds. The solution to those would be to record beside, rather than straight into your mic, at a distance of about 6 inches. That might require increasing your input volume slightly in Audacity and on your mic (see the page above for information about this as well).

Please correct these settings and upload a corrected version of your test. I'll come back and take a listen.

Thanks,

Abby · Post by **Abby** » January 28th, 2024, 1:45 pm

Hi Winnifred,
Thanks for checking my test!

Here's take 2: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test2_abby.mp3

I think the plosives are better, but Checker is saying it's a bit quiet. What do you think? Go with this set-up and amplify a bit?

Winnifred · Post by **Winnifred** » January 28th, 2024, 3:29 pm

Yes, the plosives are better. You could go with this and just use Loudness Normalization to get the volume to the correct level (Effects > Loudness Normalization set to -19LUFS > click Apply), but that would mean you'll have to do it for every recording you make. And be aware that will also increase your background noise, which might mean you'd also have to apply Noise Reduction.

The other alternative is to crank up the input volume in your computer settings a bit more, increase the gain on your mic (if you have that dial), and turn up the input gain slider in Audacity (if there's room available). Some combination of any or all three of these should get you into roughly the correct range for Librivox (you just have to play with them until the results are what you want). It won't always be perfect, and you'll likely have to double-check your volume (I have to adjust about half of my recordings), but it'll be closer.

I leave it up to you which one you want to go with. When you re-upload your file, let me know which option you chose.

Thanks,

Abby · Post by **Abby** » January 28th, 2024, 5:58 pm

I can't really increase the input volume any more, so I decided to do some amplification and noise cleaning, but I somehow managed to delete the raw file.

Would you be willing to check this weekly poem that I recorded?

https://librivox.org/uploads/aradlaw/womanhood_cawein_aj_128kb.mp3

Winnifred · Post by **Winnifred** » January 28th, 2024, 6:13 pm

Abby wrote: ↑January 28th, 2024, 5:58 pm I can't really increase the input volume any more, so I decided to do some amplification and noise cleaning, but I somehow managed to delete the raw file.

Would you be willing to check this weekly poem that I recorded?

https://librivox.org/uploads/aradlaw/womanhood_cawein_aj_128kb.mp3

Sure. And that one passes Checker first round, and sounds very nice. I'll approve your test based on this.

For future reference, if you delete the raw file after you've uploaded an mp3 file, you can either open (or download and open) the mp3 and edit the file in Audacity, which automatically opens it as an .aup file. There's an ever-so-slight deterioration in quality, but mostly this works reasonably well.

Happy reading!

Cheers,