Set Return to prevent gate chatter near threshold¶
When audio levels hover near the threshold, the gate can open and close rapidly, producing an audible stuttering effect called chatter. The Return knob adds a hysteresis deadband so the gate does not close again until the signal drops a set amount below the threshold where it opened.
Before you start¶
- The gate must be enabled on the TX or RX side. See Bypass the gate from the chain to confirm the gate stage is active.
- Set Thresh first so you have a stable reference point. See Set TX threshold just above room noise floor.
Steps¶
- Open the Aetherial TX Gate sub-container (TX side) or the Aetherial AGC-G sub-container (RX side) inside the Aetherial Audio (TXDSP) parent container. Alternatively, double-click the GATE stage in the CHAIN widget to open the floating editor titled Aetherial Gate — TX or Aetherial Gate — RX.
- Locate the Return knob.
- Turn Return upward from its default of 2.0 dB until the chatter stops. Start with small increases — 3 to 5 dB is often sufficient for voice.
- Watch the transfer curve. A soft-cyan vertical band appears between (Thresh − Return) and Thresh, showing the hysteresis deadband. Widen or narrow it by adjusting Return until the band covers the range where your signal fluctuates.
- Speak or pass audio at a level that previously caused chatter. Confirm the gate opens cleanly and does not re-close until your level drops below the bottom edge of the cyan band.
What each control does¶
| Control | Default | Valid range | Persisted key (TX / RX) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thresh | −40.0 dB | −80.0 to 0.0 dB | ClientGateTxThresholdDb / ClientGateRxThresholdDb |
| Ratio | 2.0 | 1.0 to 10.0 | ClientGateTxRatio / ClientGateRxRatio |
| Return | 2.0 dB | 0.0 to 20.0 dB | ClientGateTxReturnDb / ClientGateRxReturnDb |
| Release | 100 ms | 5 to 2000 ms | ClientGateTxReleaseMs / ClientGateRxReleaseMs |
| Floor | −15.0 dB | −80.0 to 0.0 dB | ClientGateTxFloorDb / ClientGateRxFloorDb |
Return sets the width of the hysteresis deadband in decibels. The gate opens when input rises above Thresh and does not close again until input falls below Thresh − Return. Setting Return to 0.0 dB removes the deadband entirely; the gate opens and closes at the same level, which maximises chatter risk near threshold.
Ratio controls the steepness of the downward expansion. Higher ratios (closer to 10.0) produce a harder, more gate-like cut; lower ratios (close to 1.0) act as a soft downward expander. The label displays as X.X:1.
Release determines how quickly the gate closes after input falls below Thresh − Return. Range is 5 to 2000 ms with exponential mapping. Below 100 ms the label shows X.X ms; above 100 ms it shows X ms.
Floor sets the maximum attenuation the gate can apply. Default is −15.0 dB; range is −80.0 to 0.0 dB.
The transfer curve draws a soft-cyan vertical band between (Thresh − Return) and Thresh whenever Return is greater than 0.0 dB. This band is the gate's sticky zone — signals inside it leave the gate in whatever state it is already in.
Transfer curve and live indicators¶
The Transfer curve indicator plots the expander's static transfer curve and a live ball at the current input level. A soft-cyan vertical band appears between (Thresh − Return) and Thresh to make the hysteresis deadband visible.
The Gain-reduction bar is a horizontal amber strip, right-filled, with a scale that maxes at 40 dB. A tick at -15 dB marks the soft-expander default floor. The bar fills to show depth of attenuation while the gate is closed.
The Input ball on the transfer curve shows whether the gate is currently open or closed based on its position relative to the threshold and hysteresis band.
The animation of the gain-reduction bar and input ball uses a precise timer for smooth visual updates. When the audio level settles, the animation timer stops to conserve CPU. If the smoothed value changes between ticks, the widget repaints immediately without waiting for the next timer interval, ensuring responsive visual feedback even during rapid level changes.
Inline value editing¶
Each knob in the Aetherial TX Gate and Aetherial AGC-G supports direct numeric entry. Click the displayed value below a knob to activate an inline editor that replaces the painted label. The editor appears identical to the normal label until focused, at which point a subtle dark background and cyan border indicate edit mode.
- Click the value text below any knob (Thresh, Ratio, Return, Release, or Floor).
- Type the desired value using the knob's unit convention. For example, type
15to set Return to 15 dB, or2to set Ratio to 2.0. - Press Enter to commit the value, or click anywhere else in the applet to apply the change.
- To cancel, press Escape while the editor is active. The value reverts to its previous setting.
The editor accepts locale-aware decimal separators (for example, 12,5 in comma-decimal locales) and strips trailing unit text such as "dB" or "ms". Invalid input is silently reverted to the last valid value.
Knob adjustment via mouse drag or mouse wheel continues to work while the editor is not focused.
Bypassed appearance¶
When the gate stage is bypassed, the entire applet tile dims to reduced opacity. This matches the dim effect used on the equaliser curve and provides an at-a-glance reminder that the gate is not processing audio. Re-enable the gate stage to restore full opacity and resume processing. See Bypass the gate from the chain.
Tips¶
- If you raise Return so high that the gate stays open through long pauses in speech, reduce it in small steps (0.5 dB at a time) until pauses close the gate naturally.
- Use the gain-reduction bar (amber strip, 0 to 40 dB scale, with a tick at -15 dB) to confirm the gate is closing during true silence. If the bar never fills during a pause, Return may be too wide relative to your actual noise floor.
- Changes to Return take effect immediately and are saved automatically. No restart is required.
Troubleshooting¶
- Chatter persists after increasing Return — Thresh may be set too close to a noisy signal that fluctuates widely. Lower Thresh slightly so the gate opens only on clear speech, then re-tune Return.
- Gate stays open permanently — Return is set wider than the gap between your signal level and the noise floor. Reduce Return until the gate closes reliably during silence.
- Cyan band is not visible on the transfer curve — Return is set to 0.0 dB. Any value above 0.0 dB will render the band.
- Applet tile appears dimmed — The gate stage is bypassed. Enable the gate stage to restore full opacity and active processing.
- Inline editor does not appear when clicking the value — The knob may not support inline editing in its current configuration, or the editor may be disabled. All five knobs in the gate applet support this feature by default.
- Gain-reduction bar shows no amber fill — The gate is currently open with no attenuation applied. Speak or pass audio below Thresh to see the gate close and the bar fill.