Dynamic Range Compression Visualizer
This dynamic range compression visualizer lets you 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, restoring perceived loudness without raising the peaks. As a compressor visualizer, this tool lets you see that entire compressor transfer curve reshape in real time as you adjust each parameter.
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 time constants control how quickly it moves along this curve as the signal changes. A fast attack catches transients aggressively (reducing punch and crest factor), while a slow attack lets them pass before gain reduction kicks in — preserving transient impact at the cost of higher peaks. To measure how much dynamic range your audio actually has before or after compression, use the live dynamic range meter. Once you know how much gain you’ve lost to compression, the gain calculator can help you work out the correct makeup amount.
Common starting points by application: lead vocals — threshold around −20 dBFS, ratio 3:1–4:1, soft knee 6 dB, medium attack/release; drum bus — ratio 6:1–8:1, fast attack, medium release, harder knee; mastering limiter — ratio 10:1 or higher (true limiting), very low threshold, fastest attack. These are starting points only; program-dependent behavior and source peak-to-RMS ratio will always affect the audible result in ways a static transfer curve cannot capture.