How to record to external device?

First of all, this is an amazing piece of software, thanks so much to the Audacity team who have created something so useful, and for free!

My question relates to playing an MP3 via Audacity, and then recording that MP3 into my Olympus digital recorder.

Why do I want to record the audio in real time? (instead of simply copying & pasting the mp3 to the Olympus) - well, it’s purely because a natively recorded mp3 file on the Olympus gives more options with regards to what one can do with the file.

Does Audacity have a feature which can allow such a real-time playing of an audio to be recorded to an external device? Note, my Olympus has 3 ports: Mic / Ear / USB.

Many thanks!

Which Olympus?

a natively recorded mp3 file on the Olympus gives more options with regards to what one can do with the file.

Such as?

This pathway is not recommended because no matter what you do, you will be double compressing the MP3 and doubling the sound damage. It’s one of the reasons we strongly discourage use of MP3 in production.

Koz

Note, my Olympus has 3 ports: Mic / Ear / USB.

You said you don’t want to use USB (digital transfer), the earphone connection is an output, and a line-level or headphone signal is about 100 times stronger than a mic signal so you won’t get good results with the mic input.

Does Audacity have a feature which can allow such a real-time playing of an audio to be recorded to an external device?

Yes… But, of course you don’t need Audacity to play an audio file.

of course you don’t need Audacity to play an audio file.

Right. There’s a piece of this we’re not getting.

Koz

Such as giving the ability to add index marks.

I know I don’t need Audacity to play an audio file, but I was thinking maybe there was a feature inside of Audacity from its plethora of options that aids such an endeavour (i.e. the recording of an audio to an external device).

Sorry forgot to mention - it’s the Olympus WS-832.

Olympus WS-832.

Cool. I have two. Hold on to them with white knuckles. If you search for that model number now, they push you off to a different model that’s much simpler (no more cool tricks) and doesn’t have WAV support.

Such as giving the ability to add index marks.

Audacity will do that on the timeline. The feature is Labels.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/label_tracks.html

Koz

Yep, it’s an amazing model; so many nifty features. I actually didn’t realise how good of a device it was until months after I bought it. Was a bit tricky to get used to initially, but the more I used it, the more I appreciated it. I only have two problems with it, a) the quality of the speaker could be better, b) there isn’t an auto turn off or auto stop play function after X amount of time.

I presume you’re referring to the “upgrade” that is the WS-852/853. I was actually checking it out, and yeah, seems like It’s just a dumbed-down version of the 832/833 series. Shame, I expected better from Olympus.

Really? I’m very surprised to hear that. I thought that permanent index marks on the Olympus was a proprietary feature, since, according to Olympus:

Writing an index mark or temp mark in a file enables you to quickly access desired position in the file with the same operations used for fast-forwarding, rewinding or skipping to the start of a file. > Index marks can only be written in files created with Olympus voice recorders. > For files created with other devices, you can temporarily store desired positions in the memory using temp marks.

http://cs.olympus-imaging.jp/en/support/imsg/vtrek/download/manual/ws/man_ws833_wa832_ws831_e.pdf

But thanks, will check it out.

But thanks, will check it out.

I don’t think Labels is going to do what you want, but read up on it. Index marks burned into the sound file is what most people want, but the native WAV format doesn’t allow that. That’s the warning that it’s going to fall apart when you leave the recorder.

Labels is a separate service and I believe it doesn’t follow a file export. It’s sometimes not all that valuable inside Audacity, either.


Olympus claims to be able to record from Something Else through the external microphone jack. (Click the graphic.)


They show it recording from one of their portable tape machines. Jury’s out on whether it’s mono or stereo. That tape machine (Pearlcorder S701 in my case) is mono.

Koz

Yep, checked it out - Audacity labels won’t do it, nor does Audacity support index marks.

Excellent, thanks for the info. KA-333 lead - that should do the trick.

Appreciate your help.

Now that it’s too late.

That adapter may not be the one for you. Turns out the tape (actual tape) machines took a smaller connection and not the standard 3.5mm we all know and love. I did it with a standard cable and a stand-alone adapter. 3.5mm > 2.5mm. I also took the opportunity to convert from the mono tape to the stereo computer connection.

And you thought this was going to be easy.
OlympusTapeAdapterCable-500T.jpg
Koz

Well, I checked it out and apparently the KA-333 lead should work fine for recording from a computer to the Olympus, (both of which have 3.5mm jacks of course).

Worth the warning. After I posted that, I thought, wait, mine doesn’t work like that…

So somebody is still wrong. The illustration shows an Olympus tape machine connection.

It wouldn’t be the first time Promotion and Publicity got the illustrations wrong. Do you have the cable in your hand?

Koz

Nope, don’t have the cable yet. Was looking at this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus-KA-333-Record-Cable-cables/dp/B000ET6ACE

But £20 for a cable? Crikey.

Ah - but that’s not just an ordinary cable - that’s an “Olympus cable” :wink:
You should try the spare battery and external charger I needed for my Olympus TG-4 camera if you wanna see some steep pricing :astonished:

WC

They covered their bases by selling you a conventional 3.5mm stereo cable and two 2.5mm adapters. So you are totally covered.

This isn’t as crazy as you think. The adapters are 3.5mm stereo to 2.5mm mono. plus the cost of the regular stereo cable (about $5 usd). I don’t remember where I got mine from, but I remember it was a search.

Koz

Yes, but remember I don’t need the 2.5mm adapters, since my PC audio-out port is 3.5mm as is the mic port on my WS-832.

So seems like a simple 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable is only required, which is what I’ve ordered from eBay. No need to fall for Olympus’ trap of paying ridiculous prices for a glorified branded cable.

Will post back my results once tested.

Will post back my results once tested.

Yes, and both ends are stereo, unlike the tape machine.

I haven’t tried this but I believe the WS-823 connection is microphone, not line level. So you have have some interesting times adapting the volumes so everyone is happy.

I recently did testing on the Olympus TP-7 microphone.

I know it works as a stand-alone telephone microphone (above), but I never tried it with the portable recorder.

Sure enough, you jam that in your ear and put your cellphone on top of it to record both sides of the conversation. And you can do it anywhere there isn’t a high wind or competing loud noises.

Amaze your friends.

Koz