Because I use very small and simple MP3 players, I have to do
pre-processing of my podcast files, and I use Audacity for that purpose.
I explain exactly how I do this in case it helps someone else.
Comment #1 posted on 2023-07-14 13:51:22 by Hipstre
Limiter/GPodder
Thanks for this episode. I had never thought to speed up podcasts before. I have the opposite problem when listening. I am always missing things, or wanting to pause to take a note. I will try speeding up some of my podcasts using Change Tempo. I think it will make me more focused on listening.
I use an RSS reader to deal with my podcasts, I had considered Gpodder in the past. I think I will give it a try again after your description of the workflow.
I also use Audacity to mod podcasts. I am doing it for slightly different reasons. I like to cut out commercials, and segments I don't like. I am not sure if Limiter is a standard Audacity effect or a Ladspa or Nyquist plugin, but it is a great substitute for Amplify/Normalize. When set to "Soft Limiter" it acts like a fast riding volume control. It increases the "power" massively without clipping like Amplify does.
A typical starting point for settings for Limiter would be something like:
Type: Soft Limit
Input Gain (mono/Left): 3.00dB
Limit to: -0.1
Hold (ms): 1.0
I separate my automated steps, and do Limiting manually for good results (I like to get MAXIMUM VOLUME because I listen to a lot of podcasts in the car with the windows open). But even while using in a Macro, I think you could find generic settings that are preferable to Amplify/Normalize.
Comment #2 posted on 2023-07-16 15:58:48 by Eugene
No need for podcast preprocessing
Hi Ahuka,
I listen to podcasts on a Sansa Clip+ synced from gPodder too! It's an excellent little player.
Speaking of the preprocessing, there is no need to do that if you install the open source Rockbox firmware on the player, https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SansaClip. It works great and has a lot of features! There is a control to increase/decrease pitch and speed while playing; you need to enable the Timestretch option to change them separately (https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildch4.html#x7-640004.3.3). It took me years before I figured out it was possible to separate the two.
Also great for podcasts are: auto resume from the previously paused place, and the ability to make the left/right buttons skip N seconds instead of to the prev/next track.
Have a good day!
Comment #3 posted on 2023-07-17 12:04:50 by Kevin O'Brien
Sansa Clip+
I used a Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox for a long time, but now the Sansa Clip+ is unavailable. The way I do it now, I can use any MP3 player.
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