🎧 How to Know If Your Audio Is “Good Enough”

So you’ve recorded your voice, done a bit of editing—maybe EQ, a touch of noise reduction—and now you're wondering:

Totally valid question! And here’s the truth:
Without a clear benchmark, it’s easy to over-edit—or stop too soon.

Let’s fix that.

✅ First: Trust Your Ears (But Don’t Only Trust Them)

Your ears are your first judge. If it sounds clean, clear, and consistent—awesome.

But audio perception is subjective. What sounds great to you might not hold up elsewhere. That’s why we also need something more concrete...

🎯 Enter: ACX Audio Standards

ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) has published exact technical requirements for professional audio quality. And here’s the good part:

📏 ACX Audio Benchmarks

Here's what "ready-to-publish" audio should look like:

• 🔇 Noise Floor: –60 dB or quieter

• 🔉 RMS Loudness: Between –18 dB and –23 dB

• 🚫 Peak Level: No higher than –3 dB

• 🎙️ Mono File: Best for voice work

• ✅ No clicks, hum, or background noise

You can measure all of this using free tools or built-in features in your DAW.

🛠️ Tools to Help You Hit Those Targets

Depending on your setup:

• Using Audacity?
  👉 Try the free ACX Check plugin
  👉 Or get my full Audacity Bundle with step-by-step guidance

• Using Adobe Audition?
  👉 Use the Amplitude Statistics & Match Loudness panels
  👉 Or check out my full Adobe Audition Bundle to make it easy

💡 Bonus Tip

Even if you’re not publishing to Audible, aiming for ACX standards gives you:

✔️ Cleaner edits
✔️ More consistent quality
✔️ Clear finishing line so you can stop tweaking

📬 Need Hands-On Help?

If you're stuck or unsure where to start, I offer 1:1 consulting to walk you through it all.

🎙️ Click here to book your session
Let’s get your audio sounding crisp and confidence-ready.

That’s it for now. Keep creating, keep learning—and remember, “good enough” doesn’t mean perfect, it means professional.

Talk soon,
Akhtar Zaman
Audio Editing Coach | Voice Quality Optimizer
https://shop.master-editor.com