Cracks after exporting to mp3

Special Interest Groups Audio Processing
1

Hello,

Wav file with my record looks like -
audacity.png
.
It looks like this because I have recorded speak of two people with different voices - first one is loud person, second is quiet one. When I play this record saved in wav file format, everything is OK, but when I export record to mp3 file format, I hear cracks…

I have tried to amplify and normalize record already, but exported mp3 file sounds exactly the same like this without these operations.

Could you advise me what should I do before I export my record to mp3 file…

Cheers

2

That looks like you have recorded far too loud and it has distorted.
Distortion often sounds worse after you export from Audacity because of the way that normal audio files clip the waveform. The recorded waveform should not exceed the top/bottom of the Audacity track.

3

Thank you for your answer!

Are there any ways to “save” this record and export it to mp3 file without cracks?

BTW: Skype has a feature which adjusts mic volume level automaticaly. Is something similar in Audacity?

4

“Amplify” with default settings should set the peak amplitude to 0db,
or “Amplify” and set “Peak amplitude” to “-0.1” to be on the safe side.

Apply “Amplify” to the wav before saving as mp3, then if the wav was crack-free so should the mp3 version.

5

Thanks! Now it is ok:)!