Best Way to Make YouTube Voice Louder (UK): Normalise, Compress, or Limit?

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Normalise Audio for YouTube (UK): Make Your Voice Louder Without Clipping

Normalising audio is one of the most misunderstood “make it louder” tools. Used correctly, it’s a fast way to get your voice into a sensible range. Used badly, it makes:

• background noise louder
• mouth clicks more obvious
• echo more noticeable
• distortion if you normalise an already-hot recording

This guide explains normalising in plain English and shows the safest way to use it for YouTube voice — plus when you should use compression or a limiter instead.

Quick answer / TL;DR

Normalising raises or lowers a clip so it hits a target level. It’s best used when your recording is already clean and you just need a sensible overall volume. If normalising makes your audio noisy, the recording level was too low or the room was loud/echoey — fix capture first. For consistent speech, use gentle compression; for peak protection, use a limiter at the end.

Watch the quick demo (from my channel)

Video pick: these help because the “normalise made it worse” problem is usually caused by capture mistakes and poor source audio.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

The 60-second decision tree

What normalising actually does

Normalising adjusts the overall gain of a clip so it hits a target. It doesn’t separate voice from background noise. It doesn’t remove echo. It simply changes level.

That’s why it’s powerful when your recording is clean… and disappointing when it isn’t.

Peak normalise vs loudness normalise

Peak normalise aims for the loudest peak to hit a target (it doesn’t guarantee the whole clip “feels loud”).

Loudness normalise aims for a consistent perceived loudness across time (often nicer for speech).

If your editor offers both, loudness normalisation is usually more “YouTube voice” friendly — as long as your recording is clean.

Best workflow (what order to do things)

This is the simple, repeatable order that avoids most problems:

1. Capture clean audio with headroom (don’t clip)
2. Fix obvious issues (placement, room, noise where possible)
3. Gentle compression (only if speech varies)
4. Limiter (only as a safety net for peaks)
5. Then normalise/adjust loudness to taste

These are your supporting posts for that chain:

• Best recording levels for YouTube voice (UK)
• Compressor settings for YouTube voice (UK)
• Limiter settings for YouTube voice (UK)

How to normalise in common editors (principles)

Every editor labels it slightly differently, but the principle is the same:

• Choose a normalise option (peak or loudness)
• Pick a target that keeps you safely away from clipping
• Listen back for noise and distortion before exporting

If your editor only offers peak normalise, that’s still fine — just remember peak normalise doesn’t guarantee “comfortable” speech. Compression helps with that.

Why normalising sometimes makes audio worse

Normalising makes audio worse when the recording was:

• too quiet (you’re raising noise floor)
• echoey (you’re raising room sound)
• full of mouth clicks (you’re raising tiny details)
• already near clipping (you’re pushing peaks into distortion)

If mouth noises are the culprit, this is the fix:

• Stop mouth clicks & saliva noise (UK)

Fixes for “normalise made it noisy”

• Move the mic closer next time (record a healthier signal)
• Reduce room noise (soft furnishings, better positioning)
• Use lighter compression and less make-up gain
• Don’t overdo noise suppression (it can create watery artefacts)

Echo and room problems live here:

• Reduce echo in a small room (UK)

Normalise vs compress vs limit (quick comparison)

Tool	What it’s best for	Main risk
Normalise	Raising/lowering overall level on clean audio	Makes noise/echo louder if capture is poor
Compressor	Making speech more consistent over time	Pumping / squashed voice if pushed
Limiter	Stopping peaks and preventing clipping	Distortion if it’s hit constantly or audio clips upstream

What not to do

• Don’t normalise a distorted recording and hope it fixes it. Distortion is already baked in.
• Don’t normalise super noisy audio. It just makes the noise louder.
• Don’t chase maximum loudness. Comfort and clarity beat “loud” for watch time.
• Don’t stack extreme suppression + extreme compression + normalise. That’s how you get robotic artefacts.

Who this is not for

• Music mastering workflows (different loudness standards)
• ASMR creators intentionally capturing detail and room tone
• Creators recording in loud environments expecting normalising to “remove” noise

Gear links

Audio pillar:

• Sound better on YouTube without a treated studio (UK)

Supporting posts (internal only):

• Best recording levels (UK)
• Compressor settings (UK)
• Limiter settings (UK)
• Noise gate between sentences (UK)
• Stop mic clipping & distortion (UK)

Creator Gear hub:

• Creator Gear hub

Amazon UK searches (tagged so the session is credited):

• Amazon UK: closed-back headphones (hear noise and loudness properly)
• Amazon UK: audio interfaces (clean gain makes normalising easier)
• Amazon UK: microphone boom arms (stable distance = stable levels)

Related reading (internal only)

• Best recording levels (UK)
• Compressor settings (UK)
• Limiter settings (UK)
• Stop mouth clicks (UK)
• Reduce echo (UK)

FAQs (People Also Ask style)

What does normalising audio do?

Normalising changes the level of a clip so it hits a target. It doesn’t remove noise or echo — it just adjusts volume.

Should I normalise audio for YouTube?

Yes, if your recording is clean and you just need a sensible overall level. If your recording is noisy, normalising can make the noise louder.

What’s the difference between normalising and compression?

Normalising adjusts the whole clip’s level. Compression reduces loud parts so speech becomes more even over time.

Does normalising increase background noise?

It can, because it raises everything — including the noise floor — if the original recording was quiet or noisy.

Should I normalise before or after compression?

Usually after gentle compression and peak protection, because compression changes level and you want your final adjustment at the end.

Why does normalising make my voice sound weird?

Often because you normalised noisy or echoey audio, or you pushed peaks too close to clipping. Fix capture first and leave headroom.

Is peak normalisation or loudness normalisation better for speech?

Loudness normalisation often feels better for speech, but peak normalisation is fine if you also use gentle compression for consistency.

Can normalising fix clipping?

No. If the audio clipped during recording, that distortion is baked in. You can reduce volume, but you can’t fully repair clipped peaks.

What’s the best way to make YouTube voice louder?

Capture clean audio with headroom, use gentle compression for consistency, use a limiter for peak safety, then normalise/adjust loudness at the end.

Why is my audio still quiet after normalising?

If you used peak normalise, the loudest peak might be high but the average voice can still feel quiet. Gentle compression helps raise the average level naturally.