My recording vs. Audiobook

[MrPinaglore]

Attached is a screenshot of some of the same spoken dialogue from an audiobook. The top one is my recording, where the waveform is smaller. The bottom is from the actual audiobook, where the waves are longer. Both are 44100, 16 bit, -3db peak. Both even sound the same, volume-wise. Just curious as to what the difference is.

Thanks in advance.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Yours are very asymmetric - this means that the positive peaks are a lot bigger than the negative ones. And from the waveforms, I'd say that yours can't be as loud as the published one, for two reasons; you haven't used all of the available headroom, and the published one looks as though it's been limited, so that the peak levels aren't that much louder than the mid-range parts - which is quite good in a book reading.

There are several potential reasons for the asymmetry; dodgy mic and sound device, and also breath control can come into it. With the mic, it generally means that your breath (rather than your speaking) has displaced the mic's diaphragm forwards. I've known this to happen with ribbon mics, but they aren't generally used for this purpose, so I don't suppose that's it. There are also a couple of ways to correct the issue, so you can get the full recording depth back, but you really shouldn't have to use those. What mic and sound device are you using?

[MrPinaglore]

Steve, thanks for the response. I use a Rode NT1 which came with a Rode interface. I do part-time voice over work and clients have been pleased with the audio, but it's always nagged at me why my waves are so oblong and why I have to amplify so much.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

NT1's are generally regarded as being pretty good mics. I'm presuming that it's the small AI-1 box you got to go with it, and that I don't know so much about. Since it takes a bog standard P48 standard mic, is there any way you can borrow another phantom-powered mic and try that with that? If it does the same thing, then I'd be a bit suspicious of the box...