Compressor / Limiter

The audio compressor allows you to restrict audio levels from passing a threshold level. These are often used to prevent digital clipping of audio levels that are too high for output equipment. Once the threshold is reached, the compressor starts to reduce the gain at a specific ratio. The higher the compression ratio, the harsher the reduction in gain. The compression continues until the audio level falls below the threshold. You can adjust how quickly the compressor is applied once the threshold is surpassed as well as how long after the level drops below the threshold that the compressor is still applied.

Tip: The compressor is said to be acting as a limiter when the compression ratio is set very high, or to infinity, and the attack time is set very low. This has the effect of causing a very abrupt flattening of the audio level once the threshold is reached.