4Game

Find yourself cranking your volume to hear footsteps, then noticing your ears ringing after an extended firefight? This guide is for you.

This is not a gameplay advantage, this is a health issue – there is no excuse for causing enduring hearing damage from a video game. Extended play sessions at high volume will cause permanent damage. It will be subtle, it will add up over time.

What is a compressor?

A compressor reduces the volume difference between the loudest parts and the quietest parts of an audio signal. Essentially, when the volume goes above a certain level, the entire volume is reduced. This effectively means that quiet sounds remain as they are (e.g. footsteps, background noise), and all sounds are quieter while loud sounds are occurring (e.g. not only will gunshots be quieter, but all sounds will be quieter while gunshots are occurring).

Setting up a basic compressor

We'll be using Equalizer APO. This is a free, open-source system audio configurator. This can easily be toggled on and off at any time. Note this will affect all system sounds while active.

Start by following the installation instructions for your system at https://sourceforge.net/p/equalizerapo/wiki/Documentation/

Next we'll need a compressor plugin. Here's a free and simple one: https://www.audiodamage.com/pages/free-downloads

Place the .dll file somewhere accessible and open the equalizer apo Configuration Editor. Hit the green arrow on the left and navigate to plugins -> add plugin. Select the compressor plugin you just installed.

Next to set up the actual compressor. The most important properties are Sensitivity, Ratio, Attack, and Release. I recommend experimenting with these settings to find what's comfortable for you and your audio setup.

Sensitivity tells the compressor at which threshold to begin applying compression. The lower the number, the less volume is required for the compressor to kick in. Mine is at -20db.

Ratio tells the compressor how much compression to apply. Mine is set to 4:1.

Attack tells the compressor how quickly to start applying compression once the Sensitivity threshold is passed. Since we're largely trying to catch loud impulse sounds (gunfire, grenades, etc), I recommend setting this fairly low. Mine is at 10ms.

Release tells the compressor how quickly to stop applying compression after the volume has subsided. Since I'm mainly concerned about impulse noises, mine is set fairly low (70ms).

There you have it, a quick and easy audio compressor setup which will save your hearing. Have fun out there, and look after yourself.

Just to reiterate, this is not a gameplay advantage, this is a 'still be able to hear in 10 years' advantage. This is a health issue. Imagine if in-game flashbangs physically damaged your eyes. We'd be suing.

Feedback welcome! Especially on compressor settings from anyone who's using one already.