Using the Sample Editor’s Audio Energizer

You can use the Audio Energizer to increase the perceived volume of audio material while altering the sound as little as possible, and without causing clipping. Digital distortion, which would be the inevitable result of simply increasing the level, is prevented when you use this algorithm.

You could compare the effect to an analog tape that has been saturated with a high recording level. The distortion factor and effect on the audio material is much lower than that of analog tape saturation, however.

For example, consider that you have processed a normalized audio file (audio data which is already at the maximum dynamic range) using the Audio Energizer, and you are playing it back through an audio channel strip. The channel strip’s meter will show a higher level, indicating increased average energy in the signal, but the peak level display will not change. This demonstrates that the maximum signal level has not been altered.

Note: If the material contains anomalies such as noise, these will also be increased and can become audible. If necessary, you can process the energized audio file with the Silencer—make sure to use a low setting—or use the Denoiser effect plug-in.

Opening the Sample Editor’s Audio Energizer

You need to select an area within an audio file before you can open the Audio Energizer.

To open the Audio Energizer
  1. Select the area of the audio region in the Sample Editor that you want to process through the Audio Energizer.

  2. Choose Factory > Audio Energizer (or use the corresponding key command).

    Figure. Audio Energizer pane.

Setting Audio Energizer Parameters

Here are the parameters in the Audio Energizer:

Figure. Audio Energizer pane.
  • Factor: Sets the amount of average level boost. A value of 0% means no alteration, while higher values produce an increase in energy. The setting you make here will depend on the audio material, situation, and personal taste.
    • Begin by trying values in the 40% to 100% range.

    • Values below 10% will have little effect.

    • Values over 100% can lead to undesirable alterations in the sound, depending on the material.

    • Values over 200% are not recommended with normalized files, because they will have detrimental effects on the sound and its dynamics. They can also greatly increase the required computation time. On non-normalized audio data, however, even high values can be effective because the overall level is initially increased to its maximum, without affecting the dynamic range.

  • Attack and Decay: These parameters control the steepness of the algorithm’s filter. Try values of 2-to-4 times the default, if the result sounds too digital or raw. This can happen if smaller elements among the main events in the signal are boosted. For example, the reverb portion of a sound can become louder.