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Martijn3452964995jj
Participant
December 31, 2023
Answered

Teacher asking for help with properly slowing down audio

  • December 31, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 294 views

Hi there,

I'm completely new to audio editing. As a matter of fact, I'm a teacher. I started using Audition to edit some audio files needed for my classes. The thing is, I need to slow the audio down to about 85%. I know I can do that with the 'Stretch and Pitch' functionality. The problem I then get is that the audio sounds tinny. I know that's completely normal, as I'm stretching out an mp3 file (which is already not the best file type, but that's all I was given).

 

I dabbled with parametric EQ, normalise, single-band compressor and dereverb. But frankly, I don't know what I'm doing. I do not aim to be an audio engineer (I'm an Industrial Engineer, myself), because I could never do any of this. I can't comprehend what all of you are talking about.

 

To make it short. Is there a way for me to make stretch the audio to 115% (or a playback speed of 85%, without the pitch changing too much) and without it sounding tinny?

If so, how exactly should I do that (if you don't mind helping me and my students out). If it's not possible to do, that's just as well. Thank you for reading my post and attempting to help me.

 

Below I've given sample audio files in mp3 format (I usually convert it to .wma, but I don't seem to be able to post that here).

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer SteveG_AudioMasters_

    You may have a little difficulty if your Test.mp3 file is what you have been given to work with, as it already has artifacts which sound suspiciously like stretched speech...

     

    You don't need to use any EQ, compression or dereverb on these samples - the EQ and especially the compression are more likely to highlight the tinniness!

     

    What you probably need to do is experiment with the Advanced settings in Stretch and Pitch, and you'll probably get a better result using the iZotope Radius Algorithm. Probably you'll need the Solo Instrument or Voice setting, and also put a check in the Preserve Speech Characteristics box too. But don't take any of that as gospel - experiment with it to find out what works best for you.

     

    When you've got it as clean as you can, then take it to the on-line Adobe Speech Enhancer (you'll find that here ) and let that do the rest. Chances are, when you've done all this, you'll have a surprisingly clean result.

    1 reply

    SteveG_AudioMasters_
    Community Expert
    SteveG_AudioMasters_Community ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    December 31, 2023

    You may have a little difficulty if your Test.mp3 file is what you have been given to work with, as it already has artifacts which sound suspiciously like stretched speech...

     

    You don't need to use any EQ, compression or dereverb on these samples - the EQ and especially the compression are more likely to highlight the tinniness!

     

    What you probably need to do is experiment with the Advanced settings in Stretch and Pitch, and you'll probably get a better result using the iZotope Radius Algorithm. Probably you'll need the Solo Instrument or Voice setting, and also put a check in the Preserve Speech Characteristics box too. But don't take any of that as gospel - experiment with it to find out what works best for you.

     

    When you've got it as clean as you can, then take it to the on-line Adobe Speech Enhancer (you'll find that here ) and let that do the rest. Chances are, when you've done all this, you'll have a surprisingly clean result.

    M
    Martijn3452964995jjAuthor
    Participant
    January 9, 2024

    Thank you so much for you help (and my apologies for the late reply). This has worked a charm. The audio is so much better. In fact, I have used this exact method this time for our most recent listening exercises and the students performed so much better (coincidence or not, the audio is undoubtedly better). Once again, thank you so much for your extensive reply. Have a wonderful day.

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