normalization vs loudness adjustment vs limiter

karimsisi wrote on 7/11/2015, 8:38 AM

Hello, I read the following in AUDIO & MUSIC LAB PREMIUM 2016's help

I don't really understand what the limiter does? Can somebody please explain in plain English. Specifically:

"The limiter can be switched on to reduce clipping". How is this different from the DeClipper in the cleaning tab?
Are the effects of the LIMITER incorporated into the exported file like the DeClipper, or is it temporary for editing or monitoring purposes only?
"This device works sound-neutrally and provides a final guard against extreme levels". What does "sound-neutrally" mean? If this is the "final guard against extreme levels", what are the earlier guards.

On a related note, can somebody confirm or correct my understanding of the following related functions:

Normalization: changes the loudness of an audio file. E.g., in order to listen to a recorded speech comfortably and make out the words easily I had to raise the volume to level 10 (an arbitrary value), after applying normalization by 200%, I can now listen to the speech at a volume level of 5.
Loudness adjustment: song 1 has volume output of 10, while song 2 has a volume output of 15. This means I will have to lower the volume of my mp3 player when playing song 2 after song 1 has finished. Loudness adjustment makes both songs' output at level 10 so I can listen to both without having to change the volume level.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 7/11/2015, 9:05 AM

. . . . "The limiter can be switched on to reduce clipping". How is this different from the DeClipper in the cleaning tab? . . . .

Clipping introduces distortion to the audio - the limiter stops the sound levels rising to the point where clipping occurs, the Declipper attempts to remove the clipping and reduce the distortion caused by it.

Above - audio no clipping,

Above same audio but sound level increased to clipping - note the flat top and bottoms of the audio

. . . . Are the effects of the LIMITER incorporated into the exported file like the DeClipper, or is it temporary for editing or monitoring purposes only? . . . .

They affect both the preview and the final output whether by exporting or burning to disc.

. . . . What does "sound-neutrally" mean? If this is the "final guard against extreme levels", what are the earlier guards. . . . . .

The effects do not add any change in the tonal range of the audio, some filtering effects can alter, for example speech, and make it sound very different by inroduce what is called coloration.

Normalization - tries to raise the sound level of the audio to a preset level, normally 0dB, - it is useful for making several different audio tracks of different sound levels as near the same as possible. This then makes it easier to balance the levels of the different sound objects.

Loudness adjustment - this boosts the low frequency (bass end) of the audio at low volume levels, with out this as you turn the volume down the bass tends to disappear faster then the mid and treble ranges of the audio.

HTH

John EB