Loudness Optimize
Overview
The Loudness Optimize module gives you information and control over your audio's loudness measurement and the relative gate in the BS.1770 loudness algorithm. When momentary loudness falls below this gate, it does not contribute to the file's overall integrated loudness measurement.
Applying upward compression can bring quiet content above the gate, causing it to contribute to the measurement and reduce your audio's integrated loudness. As a result, your audio can playback at a higher level on loudness-normalized streaming platforms.
There may also be cases where your audio's momentary loudness is already above the gate, and in this case we hope that Loudness Optimize will be a valuable check to ensure that your audio will sound optimally loud on streaming platforms.
Metering and Readouts
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LOUDNESS TRACE: Represents the momentary loudness of your audio over time. When audio is above the LUFS Gate and contributes to the integrated loudness measurement, it is colored blue. Audio below the LUFS Gate that does not contribute to the measurement is colored gray. This chart can be scrolled and zoomed by dragging and using the mouse wheel on either axis. The chart will focus on whatever region in time is highlighted in the main RX window. You can also hover over the chart to see the audio's momentary loudness at any point in time.
LUFS GATE LINE: The dashed white line represents the relative gate in the BS.1770 Integrated Loudness measurement. This line will re-position dynamically depending on the audio and cannot be directly adjusted by the user. Its position is 10 LU below the average momentary loudness measurement.
MEASURED %: Displays the amount of audio in the file that is above the LUFS Gate. Low Measured % values indicate that there is potential for loudness optimization because there is significant content that can be raised above the gate and therefore reduce integrated loudness. As the Measured % approaches 100%, it is less likely that the audio's integrated loudness measurement can be reduced.
INTEGRATED LUFS: Displays the integrated loudness of the audio file after applying the LUFS gate. This is the measurement that streaming platforms will use when calculating loudness normalization.
Controls
Boost
Controls the maximum amount of gain boost in dB that the processing will apply to quiet content.
Threshold
Determines the level in dBFS where the upward compression will begin to be applied. Audio above this threshold level will be completely unaffected, so the audio's original peak values and limiting will be maintained. Audio below this threshold will be upward-compressed with the specified Ratio, subject to the maximum Boost. Threshold is also displayed in the main RX window (when the waveform is visible) and can be adjusted via the connected handles.
Ratio
Affects how much compression is applied below the threshold. It works similarly to a typical downward compressor's ratio control, but rather than affecting how much gain is reduced above a threshold it affects how much gain is boosted below a threshold.
For example, a Ratio of 4:1 on a typical downward compressor means that for every 4 dB that the signal exceeds the Threshold, the output gain will only be 1 dB above the Threshold. Applying Loudness Optimize with a 4:1 Ratio means that for every 4 dB the signal falls below the Threshold, the output will only be 1 dB below the Threshold.
Speed
Sets the ballistics of the upward compression, in milliseconds. It primarily determines how quickly the processor will begin to boost when audio falls below the threshold. It also sets the lookahead time for the upward compression. Longer speeds will set more lookahead time and be less prone to distortion.
Learn
The Learn function will quickly apply many combinations of Boost and Threshold, measure the resulting integrated loudness, and select a Boost and Threshold amount that will result in the most optimal reduction in Integrated Loudness.
Learn will not change Ratio and Speed. Instead, your selected Ratio and Speed controls will be accounted for as Learn is running. The following workflow is recommended:
Set your desired Ratio and Speed. The default Ratio and Speed of 4:1 and 120 ms are a good starting point (achieve higher LUFS reduction with higher Ratios and faster Speeds).
Click Learn.
Learn will attempt to reduce the loudness of the highlighted audio region. In almost all cases, it is recommended to run Learn on the entire audio file. Even if you only intend to apply the Loudness Optimize processing to a specific section, the recommended workflow is to Learn from the entire audio file and then highlight and render the learned settings to the specific section.
It is possible that no reduction in integrated loudness can be achieved with any combinations of Boost and Threshold, given the selected Ratio and Speed. In this case, the Loudness Optimize module will show this message after running Learn:
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