I haven’t used Audacity for a few years - but this time around, on a default installation - when I record and then playback… it seems there is a hall effect on. Also seems to be doing some sort of auto-limiting during “quiet” times. Has anyone else experienced this?
Many Windows users experience this if they haven’t turned off Windows Enhanced Services.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_recording_troubleshooting.html#enhancements
Koz
In addition to the “enhancements” that koz mentioned, some sound cards also have their own control panel with additional effects “to enhance your listening pleasure”.