Want Pro-Level Audio? Check for These 14 Issues

and most people waste time before realizing

Author

Master Editor
February 13, 2025

Many people could succeed in voice-over or audiobook narration if they knew their mistakes. Although this may sound surprising, many don’t realize what they are doing wrong.

If they understood the problem, they would eventually fix it. Since you’re reading this email, you already have the ability to improve. Because you are using an audio editing software.

The key is to find the issue, experiment with solutions, and fix it over time. It’s not about being smart—it’s about knowing what’s wrong.

For most people, identifying audio editing mistakes feels impossible. Some think you need to be an audio engineer to understand everything.

But that’s not true. You just need to be aware of these common issues:

  • Reverb, echo, or sound reflections

  • Mouth clicks and other mouth noises

  • Random clicks

  • Pops

  • Hissing sounds

  • Plosives (strong "p" and "b" sounds)

  • Sibilance (sharp "s" sounds)

  • Dynamic range (difference between loud and soft speech)

  • Boxy-sounding voice

  • Muffled or muddy voice

  • Whistling tone in the voice

  • Low-end rumble

  • Distortion

  • Clipping (audio cutting out or sounding too loud)

I’ve listed 14 common problems. If you can identify these in your audio, you’re on the right track. If you don’t recognize some of these terms, you still have more to learn.

You have two ways to improve:

  1. Search YouTube or Google for these terms. Learn as much as you can until you can recognize these issues in your audio.

  2. Get my help.

I have materials to guide you. For personalized feedback, I recommend assignments designed for voice-over and audiobook narration.

You can submit your work using Audacity or Adobe Audition. Check the links below, and if you have any questions, just reply to this email.