# Improved "leveling" for speech

**URL:** <https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/improved-leveling-for-speech/33258>\
**Category:** Plug-in Archive\
**Created:** [March 3, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/improved-leveling-for-speech/33258 "2014-03-03T05:37:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![steve](https://forum.audacityteam.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@steve](https://forum.audacityteam.org/u/steve)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 5:37am UTC](https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/improved-leveling-for-speech/33258/1 "2014-03-03T05:37:11Z")

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According to my sources, the main use of the Leveler effect ([Audacity Manual](http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/leveler.html)) is to “level” out variations in amplitude (reduce dynamic range), particularly for speech recordings.  
The manual describes the effect:

> Leveler is a simple, combined compressor and limiter effect for reducing the dynamic range of audio. It reduces the difference between loud and soft, making the audio easier to hear in noisy environments or on small loudspeakers.
> 
> It is best suited to speech recordings but at heavier settings or used multiple times

As a test, I made a mock-up of a two voice dialogue in a stereo recording, with one panned some way to the left and one toward the right, The voice on the left is a lot quieter than the voice on the left. I expected this test to be a difficult challenge for the Leveler effect.

As expected, in order to achieve a reasonable amount of “leveling” the effect had to be applied quite heavily, which caused noticeable distortion to the louder voice and the quieter voice was still noticeably quieter.

I then tried a new, simple, dynamic compression effect that I have called “Level speech”.  
The default settings are intended to boost the levels of the voices so that they are both loud and clear with minimal distortion to either voice.

This is the test recording. First is the original “conversation”, followed by the same dialogue after attempting to “level” with the Leveler, followed by the same after attempting to level with the new “Level speech” effect:  
[/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f9ccebb89022e6ef62af28296ce066aa484fdfe9.ogg](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/default/original/2X/f/f9ccebb89022e6ef62af28296ce066aa484fdfe9.ogg)  
The new effect has just 2 controls:

- **Leveling amount (%):** 100% (default) provides maximum leveling. 0% produces no leveling, but still “limits” peaks to the maximum valid range of 0 dB (without “clipping” the audio).
- **Threshold (dB):** The default is -20 dB. Sounds above this level are “compressed” into the high (loud) end of the dynamic range. This is called “upward compression”. Sounds a little below this level will still be made louder, but less so. To “level” 2 voices, the Threshold should be set a little below the level of the quieter voice.  
Tip: If background noise becomes too loud, try raising the threshold. If the quieter voice is not made loud enough, try lowering the threshold.

And this is the plug-in:  
[LevelSpeech.ny](https://forum.audacityteam.org/uploads/short-url/hqxGwKjGoA0brw75vGQEyf1VJMU.ny) (1.99 KB)  
(Old version)

Latest version is on the wiki: [Missing features - Audacity Support](http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Nyquist_Effect_Plug-ins#Level_Speech)

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