ACX Audio Submission Requirements for audiobooks with amazon

[lpburke]

Hello! I am new to home recording. Just learning the ropes. One of the things I am wanting to do besides record my own music is record audio narration for my ebooks through ACX at Amazon.com. Each audio file must measure between -23dB and -18dB RMS and have -3dB peak values and a maximum -60dB noise floor. Must also be a 192kbps or higher MP3, Constant Bit Rate (CBR) at 44.1 kHz. Obviously, I need to set it up this way but not sure how to do it with Mixcraft 8. Can any help me out here? Thanks in advance for any help! --Linda

[Mark Bliss]

Hi and welcome!

There's multiple methods Linda.
The first concern is related to the length of the audio files. For a song its only a minor hassle to have to play through the file for the purpose of analyzing the RMS and peak values. And I would be glad to assist and make some suggestions on that.
But for an audio book narration, that method is just not a reasonable solution.

I think what you are going to want to look into is an "offline" analyzer toolset that can more rapidly evaluate the levels. Unfortunately, my knowledge of them ends at the awareness of their existence......

Bottom line, there are dedicated tools for this purpose. Being a music guy and hobbyist, its outside of my area.

[dakwatson]

Hi, Linda,

I've been using Mixcraft to edit my wife's audiobook narrations, and I'm still playing with the plugins inside Mixcraft to avoid using any other software, but I'm still not there yet. Right now, I'm using Audacity and a few plugins to reach ACX's standards while I get Mixcraft where it needs to be.

The best guide for simply hitting the RMS, noisefloor, and peak levels I've found is here: http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/ACXMaste ... ering.html. You can also just search "kozco" and "ACX Mastering" to find the page. The plugin ACX Check has been especially helpful.

There's also another program called 2nd Opinion by Steven Jay Cohen that will check all your audiobook files in one batch, including your retail sample.

I'm going to try to setup Mixcraft using just the default plugins to see if I can hit ACX's standards mostly from the beginning, and I'll post a follow-up once I do.

Duane

[rrichard63]

Another possibility to evaluate is Auphonic Leveler. You can use it by uploading your files to a website:

https://auphonic.com/landing

or by purchasing a program that runs on your own computer:

https://auphonic.com/leveler

The website version is free for up to two hours of audio per month, which gives you a convenient way to try it out.

Hope this helps,
Bob Richard