Sound amplifier software makes sound on a computer louder. This software can be used to amplify sound during play or to change a sound so it plays at a louder volume overall, and can be used for both professional and personal audio applications. Most sound amplifier software packages also have features that allow the user to improve the quality of the sound by making precise adjustments to different elements of the sound.
Usually, a computer user employs sound amplifier software because her computer sound plays at a low volume or has poor quality. Sound amplifier software can be used by the average user to boost computer audio, but is most often used by performers like DJs or venues that offer audio entertainment. Professional sound artists often use sound amplifier software that acts as a part of a total sound processing software package.
Examples of sound processing software packages that include sound amplifying software functions include Cubase®, Reason® and Pro Tools® audio programs. Within a sound program, sound amplifier software is generally a plugin that works to process audio within the program. This type of sound amplifier program does not work on its own, since a plugin needs a master program to work.
Though the major function of sound amplifier software is to make insufficient audio volume louder, it also has functions that make the sound coming from the speakers sound better. Functions that can help improve sound include equalizers, compressors, and sound reverberation functions. Different types of sound amplifier software are designed to amplify different types of sound or different components of the sound.
When adjusting sound, an audio engineer can use a variety of tools to get the type of sound she wants. A sound engineer can use equalizers to change the volume of specific frequencies or frequency ranges within a sound, compressors to even out sound volumes and delay functions like reverberation to give the sound depth within its virtual sound space. Advanced software built for sound amplification uses software that performs similar functions as hardware audio tools in order to amplify and improve the sound.
Software built to amplify sound is similar in function to software used to amplify and bolster sound in the mastering process of audio production. Generally, software used to amplify sound in audio production is called a sonic maximizer, or simply a maximizer. A maximizer can be programmed to amplify certain frequencies within a sound file to give it what the listener might perceive as a more full set of audio tones. Hardware and software maximizers are commonly used in the mastering process. Using a maximizer can help balance out the volume of tracks on an album so they play at basically the same volume throughout the album.