User Manual

WAVELAB
Off-line processing 9 – 181
The dialog contains the following options:
Item Description
Desired Loudness The loudness you desire to achieve. Positive and negative values can
be set.
Be aware that specifying high positive values might not be good prac-
tice, as this could require a gain which is beyond what the limiter can
properly handle so distortion could occur. A good tip is to use “Statis-
tics” (see below) after specifying a loudness, which will tell you how
much the gain needs to be raised and if peak limiting needs to be ap-
plied. Light peak limiting is acceptable, but if heavy limiting is necessary
this will probably render a result that will not accurately match the de-
sired loudness and precision and might degrade the audio quality. In
such cases a warning will be shown after applying the process, allow-
ing you to undo it.
Sliding interval
(keep maximum)
If this option is not checked, the global average loudness of the selec-
tion (or the whole file) is used as a loudness reference (RMS). If
checked, a “sliding interval” is used, meaning that the maximum loud-
ness value found in the audio selection is retained, and used as a refer-
ence. If you have a file where the overall loudness is more or less even,
leave this option unchecked. If you have a file with a high dynamic
range, Sliding interval is preferable.
Compensate for
ear’s frequency
sensitivity
The human ear is less sensitive to low and high frequencies than to mid-
range frequencies (as shown in the famous “Fletcher-Munson” curve).
Moreover, the degree of this phenomenon depends on the overall loud-
ness (the lower the loudness, the more sensitive the ear is to the fre-
quency difference).
WaveLab takes into account the frequency contents of the file. E.g. if it
contains much bass, you’ll get a lower RMS value if you use the com-
pensation option (since low frequencies contribute less to the per-
ceived loudness), and a higher value if mid-range frequencies are
prominent. If you want to normalize two files so that they sound equally
loud, you should specify both equal “Desired loudness” values and
equal “Compensation” values.
Catch loudness from
audio selection
This will set the “Desired loudness” value to the average loudness
found in the current audio file (or selection).
Peak Limiter –
Max peak level
This specifies the maximum peak level of the resulting audio. The lower
this is set, the less loudness you can achieve.
Peak Limiter –
Softness
This parameter affects the way the Peak Master operates. A high set-
ting will maximize the perceived loudness effect but can in some cases
result in a slight harshness of the sound. Adjust this parameter to opti-
mize the balance between sound quality and the desired effect.
Remove DC offset If any DC offset exists in the file, this will affect the loudness computa-
tion. Therefore it is recommended that you keep this option activated.
See “Eliminate DC Offset” on page 195 for a description of DC offset.