YouTube Audio Loudness Explained

Update v3: 4 March 2026 - Mostly this is just AI generated stuff, for my records. There is some processes here that work and some that do not, it really seems to depend on the audio. Usually i just pass it through auphonic and save my self hours of manually cleaning the audio. 

Update v2 : Added new steps to this process here.

Update: This is an update to an older guide i had on this, which was missing some steps. 

Based on your previous "Stats for Nerds" data and your current workflow, the reason viewers are struggling to hear you is that your final target (-20 LUFS) is too quiet for YouTube. YouTube targets -14 LUFS, so by setting your normalization to -20, you are intentionally making your audio 6 decibels quieter than the platform standard.

Here is a rewritten Audacity guide optimized for YouTube's volume standards and clarity.

The "YouTube Standard" Voice Workflow

1. Noise Reduction (Clean the Foundation)

• Step: Select a "silent" part of the track (just background noise).

• Action: Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Reduction. Click Get Noise Profile.

• Action: Select the whole track. Run Noise Reduction again with these settings:

  • Noise Reduction: 12 dB

  • Sensitivity: 6.00

  • Frequency Smoothing: 3

2. High-Pass Filter (Remove the "Mud")

This removes low-frequency rumble (fridge hum, traffic) that makes a voice sound "boomy" or "under a blanket."

• Step: Effect > EQ and Filters > High-Pass Filter.

• Settings: * Frequency: 80 Hz (or 100 Hz if your voice is naturally very deep).

  • Roll-off: 12 dB or 24 dB per octave.

3. Noise Gate (Silence the Breaths)

Your current settings are good, but make sure to do this before you compress the audio.

• Step: Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Gate.

• Settings: * Threshold: -42.00 dB (Adjust if it's cutting off your actual words).

  • Level reduction: -30.0 dB.

  • Attack/Decay: Keep your current settings (20ms / 120ms).

4. Compressor (THE KEY STEP)

This is what's missing from your current guide. A compressor makes the quiet parts of your talking louder and the loud parts quieter, making your voice sound "full" and consistent.

• Step: Effect > Volume and Compression > Compressor.

• Settings:

  • Threshold: -18 dB to -20 dB.

  • Noise Floor: -40 dB.

  • Ratio: 3:1.

  • Attack Time: 0.20 secs.

  • Release Time: 1.0 secs.

  • Check "Make-up gain for 0 dB after compressing".

5. Treble Boost (Fix the "Blanket" Sound)

If people say you sound muffled, this adds "air" and clarity to your speech.

• Step: Effect > EQ and Filters > Filter Curve EQ.

• Action: Click Presets & Settings > Factory Presets > Treble Boost.

  • Tip: If it's too sharp, lower the green line slightly, but keep the upward curve on the right side.

6. Loudness Normalization (The Final Push)

This is the most important change. To hit the levels YouTube expects:

• Step: Effect > Volume and Compression > Loudness Normalization.

• Settings:

  • Normalize perceived loudness to: -14.0 LUFS.

  • (Note: Using -20.0 LUFS as your old guide suggested is what caused your -9.0dB "under-target" reading on YouTube).

Summary of Changes:

1. Target -14 LUFS: This ensures your "Content Loudness" in YouTube Stats will be close to 0.0dB, meaning you are at the maximum volume YouTube allows without being turned down.

2. Add Compression: This stops the audio from sounding "thin" and makes it much easier to hear on mobile devices.

3. High-Pass First: By removing the low-end mud early, your compressor and normalizer won't "waste" energy on sounds the human ear can't really hear.

Version 2 Steps

I had to slightly modify the order of these to get the following list. There were some issues with the limiter and compressor. 

The Ultimate "YouTube Standard" Voice Guide

1. Noise Reduction

• The Goal: Remove background hiss or hum before it gets amplified by other effects.

• The Action: Get a noise profile from a silent section, then apply Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Reduction to the whole track.

• When to change: If your voice starts sounding "robotic" or "underwater," lower the Noise Reduction (dB) setting from 12 to 6 or 9.

2. High-Pass Filter

• The Goal: Remove "mud" and low-end rumble that makes voices sound muffled.

• The Action: Effect > EQ and Filters > High-Pass Filter. Set Frequency to 80Hz or 100Hz and Roll-off to 12dB.

• When to change: If your voice sounds too thin, lower the frequency to 60Hz. If it still sounds boomy, raise it to 120Hz.

3. Noise Gate (Breath & Click Control)

• The Goal: Silence the gaps between your words to remove breaths and mouth clicks.

• The Action: Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Gate. Use a Threshold of -42dB and Level Reduction of -30dB.

• When to change (Critical): * If breaths are still audible: Raise the threshold (e.g., to -35dB) so the gate is more "sensitive" and catches louder breaths.

  • If your words are getting cut off: Lower the threshold (e.g., to -50dB) to make the gate "weaker" so it stays open for quiet speech.

4. Compressor

• The Goal: Make your volume consistent so quiet words are as easy to hear as loud ones.

• The Action: Effect > Volume and Compression > Compressor. Set Threshold to -18dB and Ratio to 3:1.

• When to change: If your volume still jumps around too much, lower the threshold to -22dB or raise the ratio to 4:1.

5. Filter Curve EQ (Treble Boost)

• The Goal: Add clarity and "crispness" to your voice so it doesn't sound like you're talking through a blanket.

• The Action: Effect > EQ and Filters > Filter Curve EQ. Select Presets & Settings > Factory Presets > Treble Boost.

6. Loudness Normalization

• The Goal: Force the audio to hit the "YouTube Loudness" target.

• The Action: Effect > Volume and Compression > Loudness Normalization. Set to -14.0 LUFS.

• Warning: Your waveform will likely look "flat" or clipped at this stage. This is expected; the next step fixes it.

7. Limiter (The Final Shield)

• The Goal: "Shave" the peaks to stop digital distortion while keeping the high volume.

• The Action: Effect > Volume and Compression > Limiter. Set Threshold to -1.0dB and Knee width to 0.0 (Hard Limit).

• For this step i had to use the master limiter setting to stop the clipping. 
  
  
• https://i.imgur.com/0j1TE5D.png

• When to change: If you want even more safety room for YouTube's processing, set the threshold to -2.0dB.

Summary Table for YouTube Optimization