I’m narrating an audiobook for a client for ACX.
It passes the ACX test yet I can still hear the computer fan/hiss or both.
Don’t know if I’m being pedantic - I’m listening through headphones at about 50% volume.
So,
Question 1: So if the ACX passes on Audacity it’s definitely suitable to pass when uploading to ACX?
Question 2: Will the Noise reduction (6,6,6) be enough/advised to take that final bit of noise away? (I’ve not had/got chance to test yet)
Tried the NS1 Noise suppressor in Reaper and it works great, yet fails the ACX pass.
Might be me being overly critical about the extra noise?
I’ve just recorded a Raw unaffected file attached - This passes the Acx test (Can’t hear any Hiss/Pc noise)
I then added the audacity effects to the recommended settings - Filter Curve, Loudness Normalization and Limiter, and I can hear the hiss/Pc noise now. (This also passes the Acx test)
The raw file is before you did anything to it, right? You have an odd collection of problems, but I think the first and most serious one is you’re not loud enough.
Your voice looks like this on the timeline.
It’s supposed to look more like this (approximately).
Your voice is an easy four times quieter than it needs to be.
Describe your microphone and the room. There are some tricks to get microphones to behave.
Some USB interfaces have volume indicators and they can get you in the ballpark quickly. One microphone interface has volume knobs that turn colors. It’s green when it’s happy.
There is one popular microphone that only recently told you in the instructions where the front was. It’s directional, so if you don’t hit it, your voice volume is reduced and can sound odd.
Pc noise now.
Those are not good English words. Can you tell the computer is on in the room just by listening? That’s not good news. The ACX specification for background noise is -60dB. In plain words, the background has to be 1000 times quieter than your voice. That’s not easy. If you can sit there quietly with a cup of coffee and identify sounds (refrigerator, traffic), that may not be a good room for recording.
Do you use any soundproofing? We publish plans for a “kitchen table sound studio.”
That may be one problem. The 802 is a perfectly respectable sound mixer, but most computers don’t have Line-In. Describe the computer. One of the problems I heard can be caused by this connection.
There is a Home Recording Conundrum. It’s usually best to keep the computer and its noisy fans far away from the microphone. You can adjust your voice volume by watching the Audacity screen. …*… Wait, you can’t easily do both.
Can you see the 802 controls while you’re announcing?
The 802 has a power supply brick, right? Plugs into the wall? Where is it? You should keep it away from the microphone or the microphone cables. The power supply brick for my tiny sound mixer hates microphones. MMMMMMMMMMMMM. That’s one of the lesser problems in your test sound file.
Yeah it has a power supply brick. It’s a couple of meters away from the mic. The PC has a dedicated line in.
I think I might have sorted it just by simply turning up the gain and level - like you said it was too quiet. I thought the added volume would pick up the fans more, but it seems okay now.
You are warned, sternly, to take the steps in order, don’t add any, and don’t leave any out. It’s a suite, a harmonious grouping and they clean up after each other.
I’m not at my office machine, but as near as I can tell, it’s good to go. I do want to check one other thing. These microphones as a series are prone to “essing” where all your SS sounds are boosted. It makes my ears bleed, and I don’t like that very much, but it’s not that hard to adjust.
Back in the office. I produced two mastered versions. One plain and one with DeSibilator applied to suppress Essing.
The crisp boosting is not that bad with this microphone and you may decide to just leave it all in there. I like the smoother DeSibilated version.
There is a “DeEsser” available, but I always had troubles getting it to work. DeSibilator is an improvement based on the original legacy code and it can produce very smooth, pleasant speech. These are the settings I used for you.
