How to Fix Low Noise Floor for ACX in Audacity

Someone recently commented on one of my previous videos asking how to fix low noise floor in a project for ACX audiobooks. While the noise floor needs to be less than -60dB to meet ACX requirements, there cannot be silence in your recording. In this video I show you one way to raise your noise floor if it's too low to meet ACX standards using Audacity.
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Hardware I've used or are using and recommend (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).
- RØDECaster DUO All-in-One Production Solution for Podcasting, Streaming, Music Production and Content Creation amzn.to/3ReiJYh
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone amzn.to/3VvCAlY
- Electro-Voice RE20 Broadcast Mic amzn.to/3NlHwct
- Lewitt LCT 440 Pure Large Diaphragm Condenser Mic amzn.to/3na94H9
- RØDE NT-1 Large Diaphram Condenser Mic amzn.to/40HlLH7
- RØDE NT-USB-Mini Condenser Mic amzn.to/3VgAAPZ
- Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone amzn.to/41N9Poz
- Audio-Technica AT2040 Hypercardioid Dynamic Podcast Microphone (XLR) amzn.to/420WPLQ
- Synco D2 Hyper Cardioid Directional Condenser Shotgun Mic amzn.to/3HlzIno
- Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator amzn.to/3Vu5OU1
- Audio-Technica ATH-M20X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones amzn.to/3oLuc73
- Bietrun Heavy Duty Mic Arm amzn.to/3LdjxcR
- Samson MBA48-48 Microphone Boom Arm amzn.to/3VbOpiB
- DBX 286s Microphone Pre-Amp Processor amzn.to/3CMt4EV
- StarTech.com 4U 19" Desktop Open Frame Rack amzn.to/3fWrE1E
- ZOOM H6 Portable Studio amzn.to/3rIpfdl
- 2022 MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro processor and 32 GB memory
Software I Use:
- Audacity www.audacityteam.org/
- Camtasia www.techsmith.com/video-edito...
- Auphonic Desktop App auphonic.com/leveler
Other places you'll find me:
- Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced - www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/au...
- ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity - www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/ac...
- Audacity Bootcamp Online School - www.audacitybootcamp.com/
- Learn Audacity - learnaudacity.com
- Zoom H6 Audio Recording Essentials: learnaudacity.com/zoom-h6-aud...
- Facebook: / learnaudacity
- TikTok: / firstpersonaudio

[@leannaMA]

Thank you!!! You are a life/time saver!!!! I spent hours upon hours messing with my mic, my daw, my studio, the surrounding rooms, and anything I could think of to try and up my noise floor mechanically or naturally, but nothing was working right. I spent a long time searching the web and videos as well but very few people mention how to fix a too quiet noise floor. You just made my morning, after a night of wanting to just give up. Thank you so much!!! Now I think I'll check out what other videos you have on here.

[@LearnAudacity]

Glad to help. I know how frustrating it can get.

[@DaDevilzDevil]

I bow to you sir--100percent worked

[@LearnAudacity]

I’m glad. Thanks!!

[@LernGuru]

Great Video. How can I get the ACX analysis to show in the menue?

[@galenarayven6720]

You are a genius! Thank you so much, you saved my day and my audiobook project!

[@bobbijones4377]

Hi, I came across this video because I spent all day yesterday and half the night trying to fix the low noise floor on my recordings. Thank you for this solution. I'm going to try it now. Do you have any videos that address the opposite...too noisy?

[@Nikodymus]

Omg I was going nuts on this! Thank you!!!

[@LearnAudacity]

You're welcome!

[@tinali555]

Definitely highlight of my day to solve this problem, thank you!

[@LearnAudacity]

You're welcome!

[@smirkingguru]

Thanks ! just what I needed !

[@LearnAudacity]

Glad to help!

[@sylvainbaril3909]

Thank you sir! It's highly appreciated and useful. I'm gonna make my own room tone as well.

[@LearnAudacity]

You're welcome.

[@Kichu0Kalamity]

thank you so much !

[@sergio.ibarbosa.m8919]

Sos un máster mi amigo. Al punto, sin enredos, y FUNCIONA! No te imaginas cómo me salvaste el pellejo. Gracias bro!

[@LearnAudacity]

Gracias Sergio, siempre encantado de ayudar!

[@NR-rv8rz]

Massive help.
Would be great if you could upload the room sound recording somewhere we could download it.
I have a decent Audio Technica shotgun mic, sound booth equipment, SLobs and a GoXLR but my PC is near it all so not sure i'll be able to record quiet room noise.

[@asigmaslife]

I just made an audio file of 30 minutes of room tone and took a nap while doing so :)

[@LearnAudacity]

Nice!!

[@codgerjim]

AUDACITY’S PARENT OWNER IS A RUSSIAN COMPANY.😳 Older versions are NOT tied to a Russian based company. Muse Group, which purchased Audacity in 2021, is part of WSM Group. WSM is based in Kaliningrad, Russia. Much as I love Audacity I’ll stick to versions which came out before they were linked to Russia.