Audacity Forum

BTW I'm not worried about vocal removal - just about getting the best possible stereo image from a portable player or PC. I didn't really think you were, but it's a common issue: "why doesn't vocal removal work on my poorly recorded MP3 that I downloaded". Also, vocal removal seemed like ...

I don't notice any difference playing the mp3 in Audacity, or any other media player. However, I suspect that your issue is that when you export from Audacity as an MP3 it sounds worse than the original MP3. Unfortunately this is inevitable, and as far as I know it can not be fixed after the event. ...

Update on "Joint vs. stereo" for MP3 export. I've done a few experiments and the "stereo" setting seems to offer no advantages. The file size is larger, but the stereo image is no better - if anything it is worse ! Using high quality settings ("Insane" preset, with join...

I used Audacity to convert chunks of my vinyl collection using one of those USB turntables. Then I got a new laptop with Vista and Audacity just would not work, so i sold the turntable. Has this got anything to do with the current problem? Probably not, so let's not get distracted from the current ...

The killer for "vocal removal" is the "joint stereo" option in MP3. Instead of producing two distinct channels (one for left and one for right), it uses a "centre/side difference" method. Do you remember koz's explanation about FM stereo? - it's similar to that, but bec...

As Des suggests, the first thing to do would be to give the computer a thorough test without using Audacity (including leaving it idle for a couple of hours). Before trouble shooting Audacity, you need to know if the problem is with Audacity, or with the laptop itself.

I can't remember the details off hand, but there have been some updates in FLAC fairly recently that can cause compatibility problems. Your problem could be related to that. I'd suggest that you try the latest version of Audacity (currently 1.3.5) and see if that resolves the issue.

I'd just been planning to use the preamp (line out) from my stereo-- a mid-80's vintage Technics SA-104. You saying I'll get noticeably better sound from a dedicated preamp? (given my so-so setup, overall) I use the phono pre-amp in a 20 year old Sony Integrated Amplifier. The power amp part was no...

There's a little box labelled "Project Rate" which by default is in the lower left corner of Audacity.
If you change the project rate there, your files will still play at the same speed, and when Exported will be at that selected sample rate. Try it with a small file to see how it works.

The built in effects in Audacity seem to be gradually appearing in the Chains options. I don't think anyone is working on making chains available for 3rd party plug-ins.