Greetings all. I have a podcast I want to get down to -16 LUFS. I am recording in mono so I know I can set my loudness normalization to -19 LUFS. The problem is, after I run loudness normalization, my audio shrinks quite a bit and seems too low. Is this normal? Am I missing a step, or is there something I can do post loudness normalization that won’t affect my LUFS?
I am currently running Audacity 3.5.1. Thank you!!!
Do you mean visually? That could be. Perceived loudness (and LUFS) doesn’t correlate well with the peak level.
It should be the same perceived loudness as any other -19dB LUFS file. But I believe it’s based on the loudest parts. And normalization is a single-linear volume adjustment to the whole file, so if parts of the podcast are quieter they will remain quieter.
Unfortunately, Audacity doesn’t include a way to just check LUFS but you can use the Youlean online loudness checker.
Depending on where you start, loudness normalization may raise or lower the volume. It’s more “dangerous” when you boost the volume because you can push the peaks into clipping.
(You are more likely to get clipping at -16dB than at -19dB.)
If you set Audacity to Show Clipping it will show red for (potential) clipping. (It’s not necessarily clipping yet.) If that happens you can run regular (peak) normalization to bring it down to a safe level, but you have to do that before exporting. Or you can use limiting. IMO the Legacy limiter is best because it allows you to actually set a limit . Effects → Legacy → Legacy Limiter.)
I do have show clipping enabled. I didn’t have any clipping before I did the loudness normalization. After loudness normalization I am nowhere close to clipping as visually my audio looks much lower. On my playback meter I am not getting above -6db. Wouldn’t I want my level to be closer to -2db?
That’s up to you! You can Amplify or Normalize but of course your LUFS will change.
P.S.
Any of these volume adjustments will change the LUFS and peak by the same amount. If you boost the LUFS by 3dB the peaks will also go up by 3dB.
That makes sense. I guess I just have to get used to exporting a track with lower levels than I am used to so I can reach the recommended standards. I am assuming loudness normalization at -19 LUFS is basically the final step before exporting?
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