Microphone Level Test

Speak into the mic and watch the live level to judge whether the volume is healthy or too low / clipped.

Speak into the mic and watch your level as a real-time line over time.

Start microphone

What good looks like

When you speak normally, the level should follow your voice, peaking in the upper-mid range (about 60–80%) without sitting red for long:

Reference ranges:

Too low (< 20%): barely audible — raise gain or move closer.

Healthy (20–80%): good dynamic headroom; full, not clipping.

Too high / red (> 90%): near clipping distortion, sounds harsh — lower the gain.

Steps:

System sound settings → input device, and set “Microphone volume” where you need it.

Enable “Mic boost” only if needed — usually keep it under +20dB or the noise floor grows.

If it’s still very low after raising it, you may have the wrong device selected — check the recording list.

The level bar pegs into the red?

That means the volume is near clipping and the sound will distort. Lower mic boost or the system mic volume, or back away a little.

The level bar barely moves when I talk?

First confirm the right mic is selected in the system, then pull “Microphone volume” to 100, enabling “Mic boost” if needed.

The level moves but sits low?

Usually not enough gain. Raise the system mic volume, make sure nothing is muted, and avoid heavy noise suppression.

Level looks fine but others can’t hear me?

Pair this with the noise and spectrum tests — high noise floor or missing highs can bury the voice or make it muffled.