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Beautiful Silence ! I am getting an affection for Audacity and today I set it up on my laptop to check my sound floor in my new voice over studio. Very happy with the results.
Sound Floor Test using Audacity
I tend to use Wavepad for my day to day editing for its simplicity but it is poor for testing Db is poor so again I turned to Audacity. For anyone who doesn’t know, Audacity is an awesome open source audio editing program that is very versatile. I use it mostly to convert my .wav files to mp3 for auditions as some platforms such as Voices.com like it that way. Normally my laptop is connected by a single lead outside of the performance area of my VO studio, but every rule has its exception.
Check out top left. I put it on mono for this and said a few words to contrast the beautiful silence. Enough said.
*** Thanks to everyone who has responded to my ‘hiring’ post on LinkedIn. I am rather overwhelmed by the response and I promise I will be getting back to every one off you as soon as possible ***
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Bonus Section – Beautiful Silence vs Dead Silence, Digging a Little Deeper
I put further information down here that is somewhat related to the topic in hand for the reader’s interest and to appease Google and my current SEO plugin. It has become quite a thing and of dubious value 🙂
So we are going to going talk about reverb… or the lack of.
Reverb is something we experience constantly, whether we notice it or not. In nature, it’s all around us—the way sound bounces off mountains, trees, or the walls of a cave, creating an echo that lingers for a moment before fading. It can be subtle, like the soft return of birdsong in a forest, or dramatic, like the booming resonance of thunder rolling through a valley. Natural reverb helps define the sense of space, making a location feel vast and open or enclosed and intimate.
In voice-over work, reverb is both an artistic tool and a technical challenge. A studio is designed to minimize natural reverb as much as possible, ensuring that the voice is captured clearly without any unintended reflections. A treated space with acoustic panels, bass traps, and a controlled environment prevents sound from bouncing around the room. The goal is to record a voice in its purest form—dry and clean—so that reverb can be added later if needed.
However, a completely dead space can sometimes feel unnatural. Our ears are so used to hearing a touch of reverb in everyday life that a voice with no reflections at all can seem strange or overly clinical. Some narrators prefer a lightly treated space rather than an anechoic chamber, allowing for just a hint of natural warmth. Too much, though, and it can make a voice sound distant or unfocused, which is why many home studios struggle with reverb from untreated walls or ceilings.
In post-production, reverb can be used creatively to add depth, whether it’s a subtle ambiance to make a voice feel more organic or a dramatic effect to create a sense of space. A voiceover meant to sound like it’s coming from inside a grand hall, a small bathroom, or a misty forest will rely on different types of reverb to achieve the right atmosphere. But in most commercial work, a clean recording is preferred, leaving space for engineers to control the final sound.
In the end, reverb is about balance. In nature, it gives life to sound, shaping how we perceive the world around us. In the studio, it’s something to manage carefully, ensuring clarity while keeping options open for creative choices. Whether working with it or against it, understanding reverb is key to shaping the right voice-over performance.
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