--- layout: post title: Get a 2nd Opinion before sending off that audiobook! author: Steven date: 2015-10-08 11:22:27 categories: - Musings tags: - audio - audiobook - daw - software - voiceover featured_image: https://www.stevenjaycohen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/wsi-imageoptim-2nd-Opinion-mac.png --- So, you've recorded, edited, proofed, and finally mastered your audio. It's ready to head off to ACX or off to a publisher. Well... you THINK it's ready... you HOPE it's... You get the idea. You know that you've put in oodles of work getting this audiobook done, but if only there were a way to double check some of the basics, that would make you feel so much better. I felt that way too. That's why I wrote 2ndOpinion. It works on both Mac OSX (tested on 10.10 & 10.11) and Windows (tested on both 7 & 10). Click here to download 2ndOpinion is an audiobook checkup tool that is designed to be used once you feel that your audio is finished. It checks your audio to see if it meets some common specifications: That it peaks at or below -3dB That it has an average RMS between -18dB and -23dB That the head of the file is between 1/2 and 3/4 of a second in length That the tail of the file is between 3 and 5 seconds in length That the noise floor is at or below -60dB That the file was recorded at a sample frequency of 44.1 kHz That all the files are mono (or stereo) Many of the points listed above have simple fixes that can be handled automatically. If 2ndOpinion finds any of these issues, it fixes them. If it finds more complex issues, it lets you know. Take that information, fix the issues, and run the software again. Or take it to a reputable audio engineer and they will fix it for you. And, 2ndOpinon is free to use on any projects you like. If you'd like to support future development, you can always buy me a coffee... [coffee]