The audio signal from a keyboard through a Scarlett 2i4 into Audacity is experiencing severe compression/attenuation and digital “tinkling” artifacts, requiring 100% hardware gain just to be audible. While Windows Sound Settings show high input activity (~80%), the actual recorded audio goes down to like 1% immediately after the first note, suggesting aggressive software-level compression, a noise gate, or Windows Audio Enhancements misinterpreting the keyboard as background noise. The setup currently uses a mix of one Mono (TS) and one Stereo (TRS) cable into Inputs 1 and 2, raising concerns about phase cancellation or impedance mismatches that could be causing the signal to thin out or cancel. I’m seeking a solution for why the system is automatically suppressing the volume after the initial attack and how to eliminate the metallic digital artifacts during recording.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/disable-audio-enhancements
NB: there can be a second layer of “audio enhancements” . e.g. Dolby, DTS, MaxxAudio, etc.