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DynamicsCompressorNode.knee

The knee property of the DynamicCompressorNode interface is a k-rate AudioParam containing a decibel value representing the range above the threshold where the curve smoothly transitions to the compressed portion.

The knee property's default value is 30 and it can be set between 0 and 40.

Describes the effect of a knee, showing two curves one for a hard knee, the other for a soft knee.

Syntax

var audioCtx = new AudioContext();
var compressor = audioCtx.createDynamicsCompressor();
compressor.knee.value = 40;

Value

An AudioParam.

Note: Though the AudioParam returned is read-only, the value it represents is not.

Example

The below code demonstrates a simple usage of createDynamicsCompressor() to add compression to an audio track. For a more complete example, have a look at our basic Compressor example (view the source code).

// Create a MediaElementAudioSourceNode
// Feed the HTMLMediaElement into it
var source = audioCtx.createMediaElementSource(myAudio);

// Create a compressor node
var compressor = audioCtx.createDynamicsCompressor();
compressor.threshold.value = -50;
compressor.knee.value = 40;
compressor.ratio.value = 12;
compressor.reduction.value = -20;
compressor.attack.value = 0;
compressor.release.value = 0.25;

// connect the AudioBufferSourceNode to the destination
source.connect(audioCtx.destination);

button.onclick = function() {
  var active = button.getAttribute('data-active');
  if(active == 'false') {
    button.setAttribute('data-active', 'true');
    button.innerHTML = 'Remove compression';

    source.disconnect(audioCtx.destination);
    source.connect(compressor);
    compressor.connect(audioCtx.destination);
  } else if(active == 'true') {
    button.setAttribute('data-active', 'false');
    button.innerHTML = 'Add compression';

    source.disconnect(compressor);
    compressor.disconnect(audioCtx.destination);
    source.connect(audioCtx.destination);
  }
}

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Web Audio API The definition of 'knee' in that specification.	Working Draft

Browser compatibility

Feature	Chrome	Edge	Firefox (Gecko)	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari (WebKit)
Basic support	10.0webkit	(Yes)	25.0 (25.0)	No support	15.0webkit 22 (unprefixed)	6.0webkit