Audio Limiter vs Compression: Keep Dynamics Without Losing Cues

Dynamic range helps you read distance and urgency. Heavy compression makes everything equally loud — and that often destroys positional cues. Protect your ears, but keep dynamics.

Simple Approach

1. Start with stable levels (not max volume).
2. Avoid aggressive compression while testing positioning.
3. If you need protection, prefer gentle limiting over flattening everything.
4. Retest footsteps direction in the same scene/map.

Common Failure

If distant footsteps and near explosions are similar loudness, you lose distance cues. That’s usually compression.

Rule: protect hearing without flattening information. Clarity beats loudness.

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