Editors: Jim Starzynski; Robert Orban; Robert Bleidt
Contributing Authors: Robert Bleidt; Jon Greasley; Hannes Muesch
Affiliation: AES Technical Committee on Broadcast and Online Delivery (TC-BOD), Study Group on Dialogue Intelligibility
Abstract
This AES Technical Document provides practical guidance for improving dialogue intelligibility throughout the media production, distribution, and playback chain. It examines factors affecting speech intelligibility, including human hearing, production and post-production practices, distribution workflows, loudness management, dynamic range control, consumer playback devices, and listening environments. The document presents technical recommendations intended to help content creators, distributors, device manufacturers, and audio professionals improve dialogue clarity while preserving creative intent.
Keywords: dialogue intelligibility; speech intelligibility; broadcast audio; online delivery; television audio; streaming media; loudness; dynamic range control; dialogue processing; speech clarity; accessibility; audio production; post-production; consumer playback
Technical Document: AES TD1009
Published: 25 November 2025
Version: 1.0
References: See the PDF for the complete list of references.
