Boosting Audio Above 1 on SoundChannel

Question

I'm dealing with an audio anomalie. I have audio that is mastered quite loud, yet on some systems, it is too quiet. Boosting the audio file anymore causes clipping.

It would be fine, except for the fact that, in my project, a lot of other sounds are in use as well. Lowering the volume of everything to match this would make some stuff impossible to hear. And again, this doesn't happen on all computers, only some.

To compensate, can I boost audio in code? The SoundChannel I'm using is already at 1.0 volume (full), and I know I can't use that property to boost it further. Is there any way to raise the audio further in code?

(I'm using Flash Professional CS5.5, Adobe AIR 3, and ActionScript 3)

Answer 1

After some time, I've concluded that it is apparently not possible to boost sound volume above 1 (that is, to amplify) using Flash's API. While you can set SoundTransform to a number greater than 1, it will coerce to 1 nevertheless.

If anyone has information to the contrary, you are welcome to post the answer and I'll change which answer I've accepted if you solve the problem.

Answer 2

You are correct. Sounds cannot be played at a volume above 1 (100%). However -- You can play two identical sounds simultaneously on different channels. This would effectively give you an audio boost above 1. But depending on the nature of the sound you may get some distortions from synchronization. If you're talking about a sound-effect without a lot of discernable Attack, you may get away with it. If you're talking about speech or percussive sound, your mileage may vary.