Hiss on Recordings

Hello,

I am trying to record music from an external source and I am hearing a hiss on playback. It seems to only affect silences (just before songs play, during pauses and when songs end). I am thinking it could be a rather poor audio card that’s the issue. I have de-selected “Enhancements” in my audio device on my PC. I’ve been able to compensate a little by adding Graphic EQ (lowering the sliders on the upper-range) but that reduces the true sound of songs. Are there other options? I’m not too crazy about using noise reduction either because that further reduces the original sound. Using Audacity 2.3.3 on a Windows 10 HP desktop. Thanks for any help!

Are you sure that hiss doesn’t exist in the original?

What are you recording and how are you connected to the computer?

It seems to only affect silences (just before songs play, during pauses and when songs end).

Often the hiss is constant but only noticeable during silence or quiet parts and masked (drowned out) at higher volumes.

Do you have an option to disable Microphone Boost ? (Open Sound Settings > Input > Device properties > Related Settings: Additional device properties > Levels)