fixing volume levels from recording?

[Phat J]

Hey everyone

I have recently recorded a conference with my mp3 player, unfortunately I had to record it from where I was sitting so it caught alot of background noise and applauding which created alot of peaks in the file.

Is there a way to "level out" everything to a maximum volume? I'm using Cool Edit 2000 and the normalize feature, but it doesnt do a whole lot, it just lowers or amplifies the whole thing. Unless I'm not using the settings right...

Here's a screenshot of the current waveform unedited:
http://img413.imageshack.us/my.php?image=waveform14aj.jpg

What I would like to do is somehow have a "ceiling" implemented, when I amplify the quiet part (the actual presentation) that the volume wont go over a certain volume.
Heres a picture I made of how I want this to look:
http://img173.imageshack.us/my.php?image=waveform29wx.jpg

Is this possible in Cool Edit or any software? I mean without painstakingly deamplifying every peak manually? Thanks

[redwudz]

In Audacity, you can use the Dynamic Range 'Compressor' to reduce the loud parts while keeping the volume of the soft parts the same. It's under the 'Effects' menu.

[Richard_G]

As Audacity is simply Cooledit under a different name, you can do it in Cooledit too. You need to apply compression so that the lower levels are amplified but the higher ones aren't. I can't remember where the settings are in Cooledit 200 (I use Cooledit Pro) but if you Google for it you should be able to find a manual (I've got that somewhere too).

[Phat J]

hey thanks everyone, i think this will work