This is a little bit of a saga but I’ll keep it simple. Basically, my audiobook isn’t passing ACX QA because of the noise floor being too high. I have checked all the files in both MP3 and WAV format using the ACX check and they are all reading below -60db. I emailed QA weeks ago and they haven’t gotten back to me. I’ve also used 2ndOpinion and it also says the noise floor is fine.
Is there another way for me to check the noise floor on my files to better reflect how QA is checking? I’d really like to avoid rerecording everything especially if this is just gonna keep happening. I got a new mic over Christmas and I can tell it sounds better, but I don’t understand why the check is reading the way it is. For now I’m rerecording the chapters that are reading on the higher side.
This is my second book through ACX. The first one passed no problem. I have moved since then so my studio setup is different, but it’s still quiet and not echoing. I’m not really worried about the external noise, I think it may have just been my old mic and the settings I was using.
This is a little bit of a saga but I’ll keep it simple.
Behold Ian. He holds the record for longest forum posting. 39 forum chapters and over a year. He simply wanted to read audiobooks from his apartment in Hollywood. We did eventually get him going.
I have moved since then
There was a recent posting from someone who moved houses in the middle of an audiobook read. We eventually got the two locations to more or less match. Or at least the poster didn’t complain. It was pretty painful. We had to reconstruct their settings from the old house, get everything running normally and then modify the settings for the new house.
I emailed QA weeks ago and they haven’t gotten back to me.
Nor will they. It’s not their job to troubleshoot your studio.
Can you post their exact rejection note? It’s never two sentences. They usually go into some detail about fixing it.
In the meantime, can you post a fresh forum sample? Just walk in and walk out. No filters or corrections.
https://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html
Koz
There is another oddity about this. They generally complain about the worst problem. They might mention it if you have more than one problem. Again, it’s not their job to fix your studio.
They might also complain if your noise is too good. That’s why we need to see their note. That’s very different from actually having too much background noise. How you get there counts.
For example, I have a soundproofed bedroom from a former owner who played drums. I can walk in, announce a voice test, apply simple audiobook mastering and it will pass technical acceptance with no noise reduction or other processing. That’s the goal.
Koz