How to make a quiet recording louder on a Mac
By Himanshu Ranjan · Updated 8 November 2026
Run Edit › Volume up (+6 dB) in FileDial to make a quiet recording louder in one step, or Edit › Normalize loudness to bring it to a consistent level. Both write a new copy beside the original and work offline. Boosting also raises background noise, so clean the file first if it hisses.
Two ways to make audio louder
There are two different jobs hiding in this question. One is gain: raise everything by a fixed amount. That is Edit › Volume up (+6 dB). The other is loudness normalization: measure the file and adjust it toward a consistent level. That is Edit › Normalize loudness, and there are target versions for podcasts, streaming and broadcast.
A fixed boost is predictable and quick when a recording is evenly quiet. Normalizing is better when you want several files to match each other, or when you are unsure how much boost a file needs. FileDial also has Edit › Volume down (−6 dB) for the opposite problem.
Boost a recording with FileDial
- Select the quiet recording in Finder.
- Hold the right Option key to open the dial.
- Choose Edit › Volume up (+6 dB) and release. A second pass adds another step if needed.
- Listen to the new copy beside the original. Check loud passages for distortion.
What +6 dB means and its limit
Decibels are a logarithmic scale, so the numbers do not match intuition. A boost makes everything louder, including hiss and room noise, and if the loudest peaks are pushed past the maximum level the audio clips and distorts. If a file was recorded well below the maximum, there is room to move. If it already has a few loud peaks and a quiet voice, a flat boost will clip those peaks before the voice is loud enough, which is a case where loudness tools and light compression do better.
Clean › Clean up voice reduces rumble and noise and gently compresses speech, which evens out quiet and loud syllables. Run it before boosting, or use it in place of a plain boost for voice recordings.
Choosing a loudness target
LUFS is a unit of perceived loudness used for normalization in broadcast and streaming. FileDial's targets are: Edit › Loudness for podcasts (−16 LUFS), Edit › Loudness for mono podcasts (−19 LUFS), Edit › Loudness for streaming (−14 LUFS) and Edit › Loudness for broadcast (−23 LUFS). Each uses a true peak of −1 dBTP and a two-pass method. Apple's podcast guidance asks for about −16 LKFS with a ±1 dB tolerance and true peak at or below −1 dBFS.
If you do not have a destination in mind, Edit › Normalize loudness is the general tool. The normalize guide covers it in detail.
Fix hiss and hum before you boost
Boosting a noisy file also boosts the noise. Clean › Remove background hum notches out 50 and 60 Hz mains hum, and Clean › Clean up voice handles rumble and general noise. Then raise the volume. The order matters because the noise tools work best on the original level.
What the built-in tools offer
The Mac has no one-click gain tool in Finder. Music app songs can have a volume adjustment in their info, which only affects playback inside Music, and it does not change the file. QuickTime Player and Quick Look have volume sliders that are also playback only. If you need a louder file to send or upload, you need a tool that writes a new file, such as the ones described here.
That distinction trips people up: a recording that sounds fine after turning up the Mac's volume is still quiet in the file, and it will sound quiet for anyone else.
A simple routine
Start with the cleanest option. If the file is mostly fine but a bit low, Edit › Volume up (+6 dB). If you have a set of files that should match, Edit › Normalize loudness. If it is a podcast or video voiceover with an uneven voice, run Clean › Clean up voice first. Check the result at normal listening volume, and if it clips or sounds harsh, go back to the original and use less.
Remember the opposite tool exists. If you boosted too far, Edit › Volume down (−6 dB) steps back, but clipped peaks cannot be restored, which is why you start again from the original rather than undoing a boost with a cut.
Judging loudness by ear and by number
Your ears adapt, so judge a boosted file after a short break and at a comfortable volume, and compare it with a recording you consider well balanced. Numbers help when you need consistency: LUFS-based tools target a measured loudness, which is why they suit batches and published audio. A boost in decibels is a relative change, not a target. For voice recordings meant for others, a loudness target is the better reference, and Apple publishes about −16 LKFS for podcasts. For private notes, a simple boost is enough. Whichever you use, keep the original untouched, and label the new copy so it is not confused with the source.
Local and private
A quiet recording is often a private one. FileDial runs every tool on your Mac and never uploads a file, and all tools work with Wi-Fi off.
Questions
Is Volume up the same as Normalize loudness?
No. Volume up adds a fixed 6 dB to everything. Normalize loudness measures the file and adjusts it toward a consistent level. Use the fixed boost for evenly quiet files and normalizing when you need files to match or you do not know how much boost to apply. Normalizing is also the better route for a batch, since each file is measured and adjusted rather than raised by the same amount.
Why does my audio distort after boosting?
Loud peaks were pushed past the maximum level and clipped. Use a smaller change or a loudness tool instead, and lower the level on the result with Edit › Volume down (−6 dB) if needed. Start again from the original, which FileDial never overwrites. Clipping cannot be undone, so go back to the untouched original and apply a smaller boost or a loudness tool instead.
Can I make many quiet files louder in one go?
Yes. Select them all in Finder and run the tool once. Every file gets a new louder copy. Normalizing loudness is the better choice for a batch of recordings made at different levels. For a batch with different starting levels, normalizing is fairer, because a fixed boost leaves quiet files quiet and risks clipping loud ones.
Does boosting also raise background noise?
Yes, it raises everything. Reduce hum and noise first with Clean › Remove background hum or Clean › Clean up voice, then boost. That keeps the voice louder without bringing the hiss up with it. Clean the file first when you can, because noise reduction works best before the overall level is raised.