Glossary
What is audio compression (and dynamic range)?
Dynamic range is the gap between the quietest and loudest moments of a recording. A compressor narrows that gap — turning the loud parts down so the whole thing can then be brought up — which is what makes a voice sound even, close and "produced" rather than jumping between a mumble and a shout.
This is a different compression from MP3. That one shrinks the file; this one shrinks the loudness swings. A podcast needs some of it because listeners are in cars and kitchens, where a whisper is lost and a laugh is painful.
Enhance voice in Cast levels the voice for you and lands it at a consistent studio loudness, which is the compression most episodes need. A manual compressor with threshold, ratio and attack lives under Advanced in the lane inspector for when you know exactly what you want.
Too much of it is the classic mistake: a voice with no dynamics at all sounds pumped and tiring. If a preset sounds squashed, step it down a level.
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