A Real Story About a Costly Audio Mistake

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Master Editor
April 14, 2025

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One of my acquaintances decided to create an audiobook.

It wasn’t for a big audience—just his local group. But he wanted it to sound professional. He aimed for ACX-quality audio, which is the standard for Audible.

Now, this acquaintance is a smart guy. He works in a corporate job and has traveled all over the world. He’s good with tech.

But that’s exactly where things went wrong.

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Because he was so tech-savvy, he dove deep into all the fancy tools. He started buying plugins—noise reducers, de-reverb tools, mouth de-clickers—you name it.

When the basic versions didn’t work, he upgraded to the Pro versions.

In the end, he spent over $1200 just on plugins, thinking they would solve everything.

And honestly? I don’t blame him. The ads make those plugins look like magic fixes for any audio issue.

One day, he found out I’m an audio expert. He reached out and asked for advice—he still couldn’t get his recordings to pass ACX standards.

So I listened to his audio.

And guess what?

He didn’t need any of those plugins. Not a single one.

Everything he needed? He already had it: a quiet space, a decent mic, and a better understanding of how to use them well.

His problem wasn’t the gear—it was the technique.

He just needed to know a few simple things:

  • How to prep the recording space

  • The right mic position

  • Basic audio cleanup steps

That’s all.

After I explained it to him, he just laughed—and then tried to resell me those expensive plugins!
He finally realized they were useless for his setup.

Now, don’t get me wrong—buying plugins is totally fine if you actually need them.
But the key is knowing when and why to use them, instead of buying first and learning later.

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