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 values — basically, this specifies the maximum value for the range of results when using 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 getByteFrequencyData(), any frequencies with an amplitude of maxDecibels or higher will be returned as 255.

Exceptions

IndexSizeError DOMException

Thrown if a value less than or equal to AnalyserNode.minDecibels is set.

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 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

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
maxDecibels
14
12
25
No
15
6
≤37
18
25
14
6
1.0

See also

© 2005–2021 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/AnalyserNode/maxDecibels