Web/API/AnalyserNode/maxDecibels

The maxDecibels property of the AnalyserNode interface is a double value representing the maximum power value in the scaling range for the FFT analysis data, for conversion to unsigned byte/float values — basically, this specifies the maximum value for the range of results when using getFloatFrequencyData() or getByteFrequencyData().

Syntax

var curValue = analyserNode.maxDecibels;
analyserNode.maxDecibels = newValue;

Value

A double, representing the maximum decibel value for scaling the FFT analysis data, where 0 dB is the loudest possible sound, -10 dB is a 10th of that, etc. The default value is -30 dB.

When getting data from getFloatFrequencyData() or getByteFrequencyData(), any frequencies with an amplitude of maxDecibels or higher will be returned as +1.0 or 255, respectively.

Note: If a value less than or equal to AnalyserNode.minDecibels is set, an IndexSizeError exception is thrown.

Example

The following example shows basic usage of an AudioContext to create an AnalyserNode, then requestAnimationFrame and <canvas> to collect frequency data repeatedly and draw a "winamp bargraph style" output of the current audio input. For more complete applied examples/information, check out our [[../../../../../../../mdn.github.io/voice-change-o-matic/index|Voice-change-O-matic]] demo (see app.js lines 128–205 for relevant code).

var audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();
var analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();
analyser.minDecibels = -90;
analyser.maxDecibels = -10;

  ...

analyser.fftSize = 256;
var bufferLength = analyser.frequencyBinCount;
console.log(bufferLength);
var dataArray = new Uint8Array(bufferLength);

canvasCtx.clearRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

function draw() {
  drawVisual = requestAnimationFrame(draw);

  analyser.getByteFrequencyData(dataArray);

  canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(0, 0, 0)';
  canvasCtx.fillRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

  var barWidth = (WIDTH / bufferLength) * 2.5;
  var barHeight;
  var x = 0;

  for(var i = 0; i < bufferLength; i++) {
    barHeight = dataArray[i];

    canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(' + (barHeight+100) + ',50,50)';
    canvasCtx.fillRect(x,HEIGHT-barHeight/2,barWidth,barHeight/2);

    x += barWidth + 1;
  }
};

draw();

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Web Audio APIThe definition of 'maxDecibels' in that specification.	Working Draft

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`maxDecibels`	Chrome Full support 14	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 25	IE No support No	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 6	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 26	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 6	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support