On Thu, Feb 13, 2025 at 03:12:08PM +0100, SoX NG wrote: > On 13/02/25 03:04, John Dyson via Sox-users wrote: > > It is probably very off topic for this mailing list... > > Not if it affects needed changes (or, rather extensions) to SoX. > > I need to know what people use it for and how it could be improved in the > light of that. I figured someone would think that way here, and I also figured my use cases are off the norm but nonetheless likely to be of interest. So off the top of my head, here's a general list of things I do with SoX, with a final comvoluted effect set for a definitely unique purpose: Occasional mastering of audio for friends (I'm not a pro at this but I've done it now and then). Reproducibility is useful here; in SoX, that's a shell script. High-speed scanning of large audio files for various events, for several applications: * Low-budget security monitoring (for myself and people that wanted it over the years while away). * Sleep apnea detection (specifically OSA). * Finding when a speaker is introduced and begins speaking in a long panel discussion. * Once, proving I had a mouse under my condo unit. The "stretch" effect is indispensible for these; I've gone at least as high as stretch 0.01 for speed. I also sometimes use "silence" to gate out background sound time, and fast predictive compand to avoid clipping at a loud sudden bang. (things like compand .01,.01 -35,-20,0,-10 0 -55 .012 are common here) Sound-based analysis of file content patterns via software I write that uses Sox. "synth" is necessary for this one. Real-time audio filtering for several purposes: * Eq adjustments for my own hearing loss. * Eq adjustments for various headsets without requiring (often bulky) manufacturer software. * Removal of smoke detectors, hums, and predictable noise from long-term Internet audio links. * ALS communication assistance for a friend in another state of the US (see also below). The "equalizer" and "compand" effects figure prominently in these. (The FM broadcast condition approximation also did when I played movies for my friend, so she could hear quiet parts from the phone on her nightstand without bass making really strange volume variations in dialog.) As a final contribution, the still sometimes-evolving "background path," as I call it, for incoming audio from my friend with ALS. She uses a program called TeamTalk ( https://bearware.dk ) on an iPhone to transmit this. The iOS sound preprocessing though has various levels of attenuation that often cut out things I need to hear, as her voice is becoming quiet from the disease and is often considered by iOS to be background, like a TV across the hall. She is no longer able to say words, and often we (others help me now) have to have her only make a sound for "yes" because letters are hard to get as well. The abbreviated input I use in my local utilities: h300 l2500 eqs60-480 eqs570 eqs943 eqs951 eqs1002 compand .01,.01 -115,-33,-90,-24,-63,-22,-55,-38,-50,-33,-40,-25,-20,-20 0 -55 .012 sil.03 speed 1.03 remix 1 2v.3 Translation into raw SoX effect specifications, with explanations: # Get rid of lows I don't need and highs that fatigue my ears # (she can't say "s" so highs are nearly useless anyway here) highpass 300 lowpass 2500 # Hum removal, for fundamental and each troublesome harmonic equalizer 60.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 120.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 180.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 240.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 300.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 360.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 420.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 480.0 .0005h -180 # Surgical removal of various fan hum frequencies from her heater/AC unit equalizer 570.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 943.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 951.0 .0005h -180 equalizer 1002.0 .0005h -180 # Attempt to reverse iOS noise removal that removes too much # I'm not good at this; this is trial and error on overdrive) compand .01,.01 -115,-33,-90,-24,-63,-22,-55,-38,-50,-33,-40,-25,-20,-20 0 -55 .012 # Tricks to keep Internet lag from accumulating - yes this raises the pitch a bit) silence 1 0 .03% -1 0 .03% speed 1.03 # And finally, more toward left ear so I can distinguish it from other sounds in the same Internet audio space remix 1 2v.3 -- Doug Lee dgl@xxxxxxxx http://www.dlee.org "Innovation is hard to schedule." -- Dan Fylstra _______________________________________________ Sox-users mailing list Sox-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/sox-users
