How to Get Repairing Clipped Audio Right
Restoring recordings where the signal exceeded the maximum level and the waveform peaks were cut off.
Tomas Lindqvist
Why does it matter?
Clipping destroys information, and repair tools reconstruct an estimate rather than recovering what was lost.
What are the numbers?
- Clipping flattens waveform peaks and adds distortion
- Declipping tools rebuild estimated peaks
- Severity light clipping repairs better than heavy clipping
- Prevention recording with headroom avoids the problem
What should I do?
- Record with headroom instead of maximizing levels
- Use declipping early in the repair chain
- Compare repairs against the original
- Re-record when clipping is severe
- Use limiters on live sources
What should I avoid?
Avoid:
- Treating declipping as a guarantee
- Recording close to full scale
- Stacking several repair processes
- Ignoring clipped guide tracks
When should I get help?
Short answer Bring in help when important recordings are distorted.
Where this comes from
- iZotope — RX Help Documentation
- Adobe Help Center — Audition User Guide
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
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