HTML5 – Getting More Volume from the Web Audio API

Did you know that thanks to the Web Audio API it is possible to boost the volume up PAST 100% on <audio> tags & <video> tags? I wrote the following function to do just that:

The above JavaScript function gives us the ability to amplify (or boost) the volume of a media element well above the normal maximum of 100%. By simply specifying a reference to the element and a multiplier for the volume we can increase or decrease the maximum volume of audio and video tags. Here is an example page’s code using the function:

Parameters

The above function takes two parameters:

1. mediaElem
   Either an <audio> tag or a <video> tag for which the volume will be amplified or boosted.
2. multiplier
   A number which will basically represent by how much the volume will be multiplied. Passing in 1 will simply keep the volume at a normal level. Passing in a number greater than 1 will make the volume be greater than normal and passing in a number less than 1 will make the volume be less than normal.

Return

The function will return an object containing all of the following:

• context
  An instance of AudioContext which was used to change the media’s volume.
• source
  A media source created from the AudioContext instance and the mediaElem. This may be useful if you desire to do more with the web audio API regarding this media. NOTE: Only one source node can be created from an element.
• gain
  A media gain created from the AudioContext instance and the mediaElem. This may be useful if you desire to do more with the web audio API regarding this media.
• media
  A reference to the mediaElem passed into the function.
• amplify
  A function which accepts one parameter indicating a new multiplier (amplification level).
• getAmpLevel
  A function which returns the multiplier (amplification level).

Final Notes

You can only execute this function on any given media element once. Any subsequent attempts will throw an error due to the fact that only one source node can correspond to a media element.

Feel free to use the code and modify the code as you please. I originally got the idea for this code from the following two pages:

• Volume Control | Web Audio API
• The Web Audio API – superhighfives – Medium

Happy coding! 😎