White Noise/Hiss Identified by VB Quality Control?
I'm growing increasingly frustrated with VB's quality control process. I submitted an audition for a project this morning that was rejected by VB for "a high level of white noise/hiss (over your voice)."
I would love to know more about this supposed noise/hiss.
My recording chain is very high quality:
- Microphone: Lauten Audio Atlantis, Neumann TLM 103 or AKG C414XLS (depending on the job)
- Preamp: Rupert Neve Designs 5012 or Focusrite ISA One (depending on the job)
- Interface: Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo USB
- Cables: Mogami with Neutrik connectors
- Recording Environment: A custom-built isolation booth with extensive sound treatment, including numerous bass traps and high frequency diffusers and Auralex foam.
The recording that was rejected for noise/hiss this morning was recorded with the Lauten Atlantis mic and Neve 5012 preamp. I used a 75Hz high pass filter on the preamp to reduce any electrical or mechanical hum/rumble. Note also that both the Lauten and the Neve tame sharp audio transients extremely well, resulting in a very smooth sound that might be mistaken by inexperienced ears as an overarching white noise.
After receiving the rejection, I ran the submitted .wav file through Izotope's RX7 noise analyzer. According to it, the file has the following noise profile:
60 Hz: -90dB
100 Hz: -94dB
300 Hz: -105dB
1 kHz: -115dB
4 kHz: -117dB
7 kHz: -118dB
9 kHz: -118dB
10 kHz and above: -117dB
Overall noise floor: -72 dB
The .wav file in question is available here for your review: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dkW44swzRgSdJyGY35ZaJlRP3D_1IM5h
This isn't the first time I've been rejected for a reason that doesn't make sense. Two months ago, I submitted auditions for two contests simultaneously. I recorded them both in a single booth session about 30 seconds apart. All settings and processing were the same for both. VB accepted one of the auditions, but rejected the other for "white noise/hiss," despite the fact that they were essentially sonically identical (both used my TLM 103 mic instead of the Lauten that I used today).
I've also mysteriously been rejected for excessive monotone when the auditions I submitted had a wide range of pitch, volume and expressiveness. (And I scratch my head when I listen to some of the auditions from other members that are approved by VB's quality control that have very obvious quality problems.)
This, combined with the fact that many clients provide grossly inadequate guidance about how they want their projects performed, results in unfair and unnecessary rejections (which your ranking algorithms use to penalize members).
Unless you can provide a good explanation of why and how the audio file linked above failed your noise/hiss test, I think I've nearly reached the end of my patience with VB.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Hi Bridger
Thank you for sharing the recording and your review.
Unfortunately, the recording does have a high hiss noise in the background of your voice. You can pick it up all over the recording while you speak and it goes down on the silent areas due to the edits you're adding. However, it's right above your voice when you talk.
I'm using the AudioTechnica ATH-M50x headphones right now and I can pick it up quite clearly. I was able to pinpoint it much easier at 0:17-0:20. You can pick up how the volume of the noise goes down right on the fade out after "legends".
Usually, this type of hiss comes from the preamplifiers and/or interface used and rarely from the microphones. I'd recommend connecting the microphone directly to the interface instead of going through the preamplifier to see how it goes. Keep in mind that external preamplifiers need to be used with care as you'll be adding 2 different steps of gain which, considering you're using condenser mics, can add extra hiss. If you'd like to keep the preamplifier, I'd keep the gain on the interface's preamp to the bare minimum (or none if possible) and add power the microphone only using the preamplifier.
Let's try that and see how it goes.
Thanks, Angela.
You must have 'golden ears.'
I traced the source of the hiss to the dithering process my DAW uses prior to bouncing/rendering the 16-bit .wav file. The software uses psychoacoustics to shape the dithered noise by moving it to largely inaudible frequencies between 16 kHz and 22 kHz. I can't hear the hiss in my ATH-M50x or Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones at normal or even moderately elevated gain levels, probably because my hearing sensitivity diminishes significantly above that threshold, as does most people's.
Here is the same original recording, but without the dithered noise shaping (and with a small tweak to my noise gate to soften its ratio from 4:1 to 2:1): https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BYwTa9ensr4ZsTGYDP2REk18F7tX3rLj
Would this satisfy VB's noise standard?
I'm still confused why this hiss issue wasn't flagged consistently in my previous auditions and projects, as my recording chain and DAW setup have been consistent throughout. When an issue is flagged as sporadically as this one has been for me (~2% rejection rate), it appears arbitrary or random and undermines confidence in VB's standards and process.
Thanks again.
Hi Bridger
Unfortunately, the hiss is still there. Would you mind trying my suggestion of recording without the preamplifier? It may help! Also, I'd suggest not using any noise gate and/or noise reduction in any way. If you're using it to cut the breaths and/or cleaning silent areas, I'd suggest cutting and fading manually as it reduces the use of unnecessary plugins and allows you much better control.