Systems and Methods for Dynamic Audio Processing

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein may provide for processing audio with increased loudness and dynamics. A first clock frequency associated with a digital audio file may be increased to a second clock frequency, which speeds up the playback of the audio. The digital audio file may then be converted to analog at the higher second frequency, where it is further modified in the analog domain. The analog audio is then converted back into digital audio at the second clock frequency. The clock frequency is then decreased back to the first clock frequency for playback or storage of the processed (i.e., modified or manipulated) digital audio file. Alternatively, the entire process can take place in the digital domain.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for remote analog mastering of digital audio files, the method comprising:
 importing, with a first digital audio workstation, a digital audio file;   assigning, with the first digital audio workstation, a clock frequency to the digital audio file;   converting, with a digital-to-analog converter, the digital audio file, played at the clock frequency, to an analog signal;   manipulating, with one or more analog circuits, at least one sound characteristic of the analog signal;   converting, with an analog-to-digital converter and after the manipulating, the analog signal to a second digital audio file;   receiving, with a second digital audio workstation, the second digital audio file;   assigning, at the second digital audio workstation, a playback frequency used for normal playback to the second digital audio file.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the importing comprising downloading the digital audio file to the first digital audio workstation. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising delivering, with the second digital audio workstation, the second digital audio file to another non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , the another non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising an externally located non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sharing, with the second digital audio workstation, the second digital audio file with a cloud computer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , the second digital audio file having a volume that is greater than that of the digital audio file. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , the second digital audio file having a dynamic range that is less than that of the digital audio file. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first digital audio workstation, the digital-to-analog converter, the one or more analog circuits, the analog-to-digital converter, and the second digital audio workstation define an effects chain. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising processing, with the second digital audio workstation, the second digital audio file in a digital domain. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the clock frequency is higher than the playback frequency. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a link for downloading the digital audio file to a computer. 
     
     
         12 . A method for mastering digital audio, the method comprising:
 obtaining, with one or more processors, a digital audio file having a normal clock frequency for normal playback;   modifying, with one or more circuits, a signal representation of digital audio file based on a clock frequency assigned to the digital audio file to obtain a modified signal representation, the modifying comprising one or more of compressing, equalizing, or limiting; and   converting, with the one or more processors, the modified signal representation to a second digital audio file.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising downloading, with the one or more processors, the digital audio file. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , the signal representation comprising a representative analog signal, further comprising converting the representative analog signal to another digital audio file after the modifying. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , the one or more circuits comprising analog modules modeled in a digital domain. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising sending the modified signal representation to a receiver device. 
     
     
         17 . An audio processing device, comprising:
 one or more processors to assign a clock frequency to a digital audio file;   a digital-to-analog converter to convert the digital audio file to analog audio at the clock frequency;   an analog modification circuit to apply one or more of compression, limiting, or equalization to the analog audio to obtain modified analog audio; and   an analog-to-digital converter to convert the modified analog audio to modified digital audio;   the one or more processors further to assign a normal clock frequency to the modified digital audio.   
     
     
         18 . The audio processing device of  claim 17 , further comprising an output to deliver the modified digital audio to one or more of a remote device or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. 
     
     
         19 . The audio processing device of  claim 17 , further comprising an input interface to download at least a portion of the digital audio file. 
     
     
         20 . The audio processing device of  claim 19 , the input interface to communicate with a remote device via a link to download the at least a portion of the digital audio file.