Leveling amplifier

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A leveling amplifier or leveler is an audio process, similar to compression, which is used to reduce the dynamic range of a signal, so that the quietest portion of the signal is loud enough to hear and the loudest portion is not too loud. A leveling amp is different from a compressor in that the ratio and threshold are controlled with a single control. Levelers work especially well with vocals, as there are huge dynamic differences in the human voice and levelers work in such a way as to sound very natural, letting the character of the sound change with the different levels but still maintaining a predictable and usable dynamic range.