Audacity Limiter or Compression?

[hardlock]

Interesting observation today. I finished a song and usually want to get the most out of the final raw mix beyond just normalizing at minus .05 which I always do last. I tried both limiting and compression defaults on two separate mixes to see (and maybe hear) any difference. The tracks both fill in nicely w/o clipping after the final normalizing but I can't find any difference in the final results? Any tips?



Top track is the raw final with both the limited and compressed takes at the bottom.

I'm not big on a bunch of post processing tricks but like to learn none-the-less. Thanks!

UPDATE: played with frequency analysis views and using the same section of both tracks compared, at first I didn't see any difference but then noticed about -1db change in the peaks on the graphs? The compressed is at about -9 with the limited about -8. Is that just the same as changing the gain however?

[Farrell Jackson]

When using the compressor, which box do you check at the bottom of the settings: Make up gain to 0 dB after compression or Compress based on peaks? I always use Compress based on peaks but change the threshold from the default setting of -12dB to -8dB, which gets good results without squashing the song too much. I use the Limiter sparingly, to just knock off the peaks, then bring the volume up a dB or two, if needed. I've used both but prefer the results I get with the compressor.

[hardlock]

I checked and it's set for compress based on peaks and -12. Will try setting to -8 and compare. Thanks much!