Possible Compression Trouble Areas - SABINE TRUE MOBILITY WIRELESS SYSTEM SWM3000 Operating Manual

8.4 Possible Compression Trouble Areas

Like any signal processing, compression can be misused, and cause undesirable problems in the
audio signal. Some of these problems include:
1. Noise. If the threshold for compression is set too low, and the output gain is raised substantially to
make up for the gain loss of compression, the resulting output signal can be noisy. This is because
the input signal must be raised significantly to produce the same output level, and the noise floor of
your equipment will be amplified unnecessarily. This problem will be exaggerated if the input signal
level to the compressor is very low (which will already degrade the signal-to-noise ratio).
2. Breathing. In situations where the compression ratio is high, the threshold is low, and the release
time of the compressor is short, the noise floor will modulate up and down as the audio signal stops
and starts.
3. Over-compression. Applying too much compression to a mix can sometimes result in such
evened-out dynamics that the "life" of the music has been removed or curtailed. Dynamic variation
in music is a major component of its excitement and interest; don't remove them, just control them.
This may be particularly true for percussive sounds such as drums.
Section Nine : Compressor Setup
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