Low or No Background Audio
For prerecorded audio that is primarily speech, background sounds must be at least 20 dB below the foreground speech, or absent, or pausable — so users with hearing loss can follow the dialogue.
What it asks
In speech-primary prerecorded audio — a podcast, a narration track, a guided tour — background music or ambience must be at least 20 dB quieter than the foreground voice, or there must be no background sounds at all, or the background must be independently mutable. The 20 dB gap is the audio-engineering benchmark for “background quieter than foreground” — speech sits clearly on top.
How to meet it
- Mix podcast intro music to fade under speech to at least -20 dB relative to the voice.
- Strip ambience and room tone where possible during dialogue-heavy segments.
- Provide an audio-only version of music-heavy promos without the music bed.
- Use a noise gate or sidechain compressor to duck music automatically when speech is present.
Common failures
- Corporate explainer videos with loud cinematic music that competes with the narrator throughout.
- Podcast intros where the music doesn’t fade out before the host starts speaking.
- News clips with on-location ambience left at 0 dB while the reporter is talking.
Why it matters
AAA, rarely required, but worth thinking about for any audio brand. Listeners with hearing aids amplify everything equally — a music bed that’s only 6 dB below the voice becomes incomprehensible when amplified. Audio engineers know the 20 dB rule; the failure is usually a producer who overrides it for emotional effect.