Test your microphone
See how loud your microphone picks up your voice and the room around you, hear a short sample, and get a few tips for a recording that is easy to transcribe.
The test runs in your browser. Nothing you say is recorded on our side or sent anywhere.
How to record clean audio for transcription
- Keep the microphone close — between a hand's width and an arm's length from the mouth — and at the same distance all the time.
- Choose a quiet room with soft furnishings; turn off fans, air conditioning and notifications.
- In a meeting, put the microphone in the middle of the table, or give each speaker their own.
- Voices talking over each other are hard to tell apart — ask people to take turns.
- Before an important conversation, make a short test recording and listen to it.
Want the text of this recording?
Record a conversation with the online voice recorder or any app, then upload it to SonaFact: speakers are separated and every line plays back from its moment. 3 transcriptions a day free, no card.
How to do it
- Click “Start the test” and allow the microphone.
- Speak for a few seconds, then stay silent, and watch the level chart.
- Read the result and the tips, and record a 5-second sample to hear yourself.
Questions
- Why does the browser ask for permission?
- Browsers never let a page use the microphone without your consent. The sound is measured in your browser and not sent anywhere; when you stop the test, the microphone is released.
- What level is right?
- Speech should be clearly above the background — at least 15 dB — and the loudest moments should stay below the top of the scale (0 dB). The test checks both and tells you what to change.
- My microphone isn't on the list — what now?
- Check that it is connected and not used by another app, then reload the page. In the browser's site settings you can also choose which microphone the page may use.
Related tools
- Compress audioMake a recording smaller for email or a messenger: choose the quality and see the size before you start. Free, in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
- Trim audioCut the part of a recording you need: set the start and the end, listen, download as MP3. Free, in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
- Merge audio filesJoin several recordings into one MP3, in the order you choose. Free, in your browser, the files stay on your device.
- Make audio louderMake a quiet recording louder: the whole file is set to −16 LUFS and peaks are held below clipping. Listen before and after, save as MP3 or WAV. Free, nothing is uploaded.