Is this thing on? Check the mic before the take.
One button: see your live level, get told plainly where you stand — too hot, too quiet, or working — then record a test take and download it as WAV. All local, always.
Free · no account · runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded; what your microphone hears stays on your device.
Meter, verdict, and recording all run locally — nothing is stored or sent, and the mic stops when you do.
A good level is the start. A produced episode is the finish.
Record clean, then let PodDJ do the show-making: music beds, ducking, transitions, loudness. Sign up: 3 full packs free.
The thirty-second pre-flight that saves takes
Every ruined recording traces back to something a mic check would have caught: gain set for yesterday's quiet guest, the laptop mic grabbed instead of the interface, a heater humming under everything. Make this page the ritual before every session — the verdict line reading "Working", one test sentence played back — and the do-over episode disappears from your life.
What "working" actually means
Working is not a feeling. It is five measurable states, and under the meter there is a row of five chips with the one you are in marked — too quiet, close, working, hot, clipping — while the verdict line names that state in plain words. The mid state in that row asks you to aim your loudest speech near −12 dB. Each state points at a different fix, so read the words before you touch anything.
- Too quiet — your peak never reaches −25 dB. Move closer to the mic, or raise the gain if you have a knob for it.
- Working — your peak lands at or below −6 dB while your average stays above −18 dB. Change nothing and record.
- Close — your peak is not clipping, not hot, not working and not too quiet. Aim your loudest speech near −12 dB.
- Hot — your peak climbs above −4 dB. Lower the input level, or give the mic another hand-width of distance.
- Clipping — your peak passes −1 dB. Stop shouting into it and cut the input level before the next take.
| verdict | measured condition | fix |
|---|---|---|
| Too quiet | peak below −25 dB | Move closer or raise gain |
| Working | peak at or below −6 dB, average above −18 dB | Nothing — record |
| Close — aim your loudest speech near −12 dB | not clipping, not hot, not working, not too quiet | Aim the loudest speech near −12 dB |
| Hot | peak above −4 dB | Lower input level or step back |
| Clipping | peak above −1 dB | Cut input level, stop shouting |
Phone, laptop, USB mic: what changes
A laptop array picks up the keyboard and the fan, and it listens in every direction at once. Your phone mic is tuned for speech held close to your mouth, which is why it sounds thin from across a desk.
A USB mic or an interface adds a gain control in hardware, so you set the level before the page ever sees it. The browser hands this page whichever input the operating system chose, which is often the laptop array, so the device picker above the meter names every input the browser will admit to. Pick the one you meant to record with; switch it and the meter reopens on the new device. If the meter stays flat while you talk, the wrong input is selected.
Room tone is the floor, not the silence
Press start and stay quiet while the noise-floor readout settles: it takes about a second and a half of room tone before a figure appears, and it then measures the last five seconds continuously. The number is the quiet twentieth percentile of what the mic is hearing, so one cough or a page turn will not move it. A floor that reads high means HVAC, a fan, or hum from the wiring — gain will only make that floor louder. The "peak over floor" figure beside it is the distance between your loudest recent moment and that floor: small means the room is eating your speech.
Treat the room before you treat the level. Switch off the fan, move the mic off the desk, and check again. Fixing the floor costs nothing, and it is the one step that makes the other settings behave.
Hot is not the same as loud
Peaks near the ceiling are a gain problem, not a volume problem. Turning down your headphones does not lower what the recorder captures, because playback volume sits after the recording point in the chain.
The fix is always upstream: the input level, or the distance between your mouth and the capsule. Set it so your loudest sentence peaks under −6 dB, then leave the listening volume where it is comfortable.
How to check your microphone level
- Start the checkPress Start the mic check and allow microphone access.
- Speak normallyTalk at your usual volume and watch the meter and the plain-language advice below it.
- Adjust the gainTurn your mic or interface gain until the advice says you are ready.
- Record a testPress Record a test take, listen back, and download it as WAV if you want to keep it.
Frequently asked questions
What level should my mic peak at?
Aim your loudest normal speech around −12 to −6 dB on the meter — solid signal with headroom for laughs and emphasis. The meter goes amber above −6 and red at clipping, with plain words underneath telling you which way to move the gain.
Why does my recording sound quiet even when the meter moves?
Peaks and loudness differ: brief peaks at −10 dB with mumbly delivery still read quiet. Get closer to the mic (a hand-width), speak up, and let the verdict line — which watches your average, not just peaks — say 'working'.
Is my voice uploaded when I test or record?
Never. The meter and the recorder run entirely in your browser; the recording exists only in this tab until you download it, and the mic stops the moment you do.
WAV or MP3 for the download?
WAV — it's lossless, and a mic test is exactly when you don't want an encoder hiding problems. Convert later if you need small.