Dynamic Range Compression Visualizer
Set a compressor’s threshold, ratio, knee and makeup gain and watch the transfer curve (input level vs output level) redraw, with the gain reduction at any input you choose.
This visualizes the standard static compressor curve (a soft-knee transfer function). It illustrates the level mapping; it doesn’t model attack/release timing, look-ahead or program-dependent behavior, and it doesn’t process audio.
Compressor settings
Transfer curve
Dashed line = 1:1 (no compression). Green curve = output for each input. The dot marks your test input.
Reading the Curve
A compressor turns down audio that rises above a threshold. Below the threshold the transfer curve follows the 1:1 dashed line (output = input). Above it, the curve’s slope flattens to 1/ratio — at 4:1, every 4 dB of input above threshold produces just 1 dB more output. The knee rounds the transition: a hard knee (0 dB) bends sharply at the threshold, while a soft knee eases compression in over a range of levels. Makeup gain lifts the whole curve back up to recover the level lost to compression.
The gap between the 1:1 line and the curve at any input is the gain reduction there — how many dB the compressor is pulling down (before makeup). This static curve is the heart of a compressor; in a real one, attack and release control how quickly it moves along this curve as the signal changes.