Boosting audio level for CD.

Question

Hello,I've just finished editing an interview in Audition (see attached clip). Just straight cuts and some gain adjustments. I want to distribute it on CD but I'm not sure what should be done to improve it or to raise the volume to a good even level. Should I first apply a hard limiter and then normalise the sound? If so, what settings to use? What are the standard settings for a CD containing speech? How loud should it be? Any other suggestions would be gratefully accepted. Thank you.

SteveG_AudioMasters_ · Answer

Can't tell anything about the levels on that at all, apart from the fact that I had to turn the volume right up to hear anything at all - so however you look at it, the level is way too low.

Normalize the level to 0dB first, and then apply the Hard Limiter. You do it that way around, because it's calibrated to a signal that peaks at 0dB. There is a preset in it called 'Limit to -.1dB' and that will boost the input by about 6dB, which should make everything clearer. The level going to the CD needs to be peaking at 0dB or just under, otherwise it will sound way too quiet on anything it's played on.

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