I have wasted 30+ hours on ACX and YouTube and still - no one shows you where the RSM numbers are located - please post a scene shot clearly showing:
-18 to -23 db RMS
-80 Noise Floor
And I have a Blue Yeti mic - do I need to compensate in some way?
What is this Nyquist? how can I use it to check this figures.
Thanks,
Sharon
ACX Check.
You don’t have to do it that way, but it’s the most convenient. There are ways to fake out the noise measurement in that tool, but overall, it works pretty well.
We published an audiobook mastering process.
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/audiobook-mastering-version-4/45908/1
It’s “RMS”. Root Mean Square. It’s a formal electrical engineering measurement that just happens to work out to loudness. So the three audiobook technical measurements are loudness, peak distortion and background noise.
We do warn you after all this you still have to know how to read aloud. There’s no tools to correct that.
Let us know if you get stuck.
Koz
THANK YOU for the help! I figured out how to locate and download the ACX Check (the download part was a little confusing) and I figured it out - I think. See Pass file attached.
My method - based on your extraordinary help:
Noise Reduction
Normalize (-6)
Limiter -3 (output) 1.40, 1.40 (Input gain)
Now that I can test clip with this plugin -and pass it - I feel like recording a few of my audiobooks is totally possible 
Final question: I have a Blue Yeti USB mic is there any type of portable recorder I can use? I noticed the Zoom recorded only has a XLR input. I really hate to drag around my huge loud laptop. If not, I’m thinking of buying a cheap mini laptop to record on and export audio to an external hard drive. In some cases, the mini laptops ($250) are cheaper than a 4 channel Zoom recorder. Would that work?
Thanks again Koz and the first person who answered me!
Final question: I have a Blue Yeti USB mic is there any type of portable recorder I can use? I noticed the Zoom recorded only has a XLR input.
The USB mic is only going to work with a computer (and you can only use one USB mic at a time). The Yeti Pro has an XLR connection.
But, I assume the Zoom has a built-in mic and it may be perfectly acceptable. You may also be able to get acceptable quality with a smart phone. (In both cases it would be a good idea to use a stand for good-consistent mic-placement.)
I really hate to drag around my huge loud laptop.
That brings-up another issue… Most “problems” are related to acoustics. You need a good-quiet “studio” set-up and you need a consistent setup so you get the same overall sound every time. And for the same reason, you wouldn’t want to record half of the book with the Yeti and the other half with the Zoom mic.
If not, I’m thinking of buying a cheap mini laptop to record on and export audio to an external hard drive. In some cases, the mini laptops ($250) are cheaper…
A small laptop should work as long as it’s running Windows.
than a 4 channel Zoom recorder.
I assume you don’t need 4 channels?
My method - based on your extraordinary help:
You’re welcome, but that’s not my extraordinary help. That’s the other process somebody else published. My mastering publication started with a rumble filter and uses special RMS Normalize.
Use either one—whichever one works for you. Fair warning that ACX wants all the chapters to match, so there is no swapping processes in the middle of the book.
Koz
I noticed the Zoom recorded only has a XLR input.
Did you also notice the Zoom has microphones?
Many people found the built-in Zoom microphones work measurably better than the XLR connection, no matter which microphone you plug in.
So no, you don’t need to lug the whole computer hoo-haa along with you to make a good recording. There was a radio show that worked around an experienced voice performer who locked herself into a hotel closet…and left the recorder running. The tiny, stand-alone recorder.
Do you have an iPhone?
The only shortcoming I found so far is the good quality sound recorder APP insists on creating CAF (Core Audio Files) and nobody can open them.
Do you have a different phone? Does it have a good quality recorder?
In my case, Voice Memo is the software with moderate distortion caused echo cancellation and noise reduction, but you can get the free Music Memo which has no such restrictions.
It could be argued a Windows machine is one of the worst ways to record a voice because of all the other things Windows is doing during the show, over and above being noisy.
Koz