Dynamic range compressor
Even out loud and quiet parts with presets or full manual control.
Runs locally in your browser. Enable JavaScript to use the interactive tool. The practical details remain available below.
What Dynamic range compressor actually does
Compression is judged by what it costs, not by what it does. Pulled too far it removes the breathing room that made a performance sound alive, and since it also makes everything louder, the processed version wins a blind comparison for reasons that have nothing to do with quality. This page keeps both versions on one transport and draws both waveforms on a shared scale, so the flattening is visible as a shape even when it is flattering to the ear.
How to use it
- Choose an audio file. The waveform is drawn locally.
- Pick a preset, or set threshold, ratio, attack and release directly.
- Run, then compare the result against the source and look at how much the waveform shape changed.
Useful for
- Evening out an interview where one speaker is much quieter than the other.
- Controlling peaks before setting a loudness target.
- Learning what a ratio actually does by hearing and seeing it against the original.
Limits worth knowing
- Compression cannot separate a quiet voice from loud background noise; it raises both.
- Heavy settings pump audibly on material with strong rhythm.
- The result is louder, which biases a listening comparison in its favour; the waveform shape is the check on that.
Questions people ask
Is the file uploaded?
No. Everything runs in this tab.
Should I compress or normalize?
Compression changes the distance between loud and quiet parts. Normalizing moves the whole recording to a target level and changes nothing else.
What order should these go in?
Clean the recording first, then compress, then set the loudness target last.