Settings for this task
| Use case | Setting | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Slightly quiet audio | +3 dB | First comparison for modest adjustment. |
| Low-level recording | +6 dB | Inspect the loudest moments. |
| Very low source | +12 dB | Use cautiously; substantial clipping risk. |
How to use this tool
- Upload the quiet recording and listen to its loudest passage.
- Choose a gain preset, starting conservatively.
- Process and check peaks, speech and background noise in the downloaded MP3.
What a decibel gain means
A +6 dB gain multiplies waveform amplitude by approximately two; it does not guarantee a doubling of perceived loudness. A peak originally around −2 dBFS cannot accept +6 dB cleanly without exceeding digital headroom. The preset name alone does not prove the file has room for that increase.
Clipping and limiting are different
Too much gain can flatten peaks and sound harsh. The processor supports a limiter when its normalizeVolume option is supplied, but the current interface does not expose a dedicated limiter switch. Do not assume a preset protects every peak. Choose less gain if the result crackles or sounds strained.
When boosting is the wrong operation
If speakers alternate between very quiet and loud, fixed gain preserves that imbalance. The normalizer is better suited to a loudness target, though neither tool is a substitute for careful dialogue editing. If noise dominates the source, boosting increases it too; this page has no denoising or speech-isolation control.
Questions about this operation
- Will it make speech clearer?
- It can make quiet speech easier to hear if level is the problem. It does not separate speech from background noise.
- Is this the same as normalization?
- No. Fixed gain applies the same level change throughout; normalization works toward a measured loudness target.
- Why does the boosted file sound distorted?
- The source may have insufficient headroom or already be clipped. Use a smaller gain and compare with the original.
- Can it repair clipping already recorded?
- No restoration filter is applied. Lowering or raising level cannot reconstruct flattened peaks.
- Does louder mean a bigger file?
- At unchanged duration and encoded bitrate, size is broadly similar. Loudness itself is not the file-size control.