This is my first post on this forum, so, hey, everyone.
I have some 24-bit/96k FLAC files that I wanna sample from. I don’t wanna export the samples as 96k, though, I want to export them as 44k, so I switched the sample rate at the bottom of Audacity from 96k to 44k. After I did that, Audacity became very laggy and the songs skipped. I’ve also tried switching the sample rate in the grey-ish box that’s to the left of the track, but then the song switches to slow motion and sounds not like it should. Why is this happening and how can I export these FLACs from 96k to 44k without Audacity lagging?
You do sample rate changes with the box at the bottom left of the Audacity Window. Audacity has to keep track of everything you do in order perform UNDO. It has to keep track of the 96 and the 44.1. It sounds like your machine isn’t up to the job. How long is the show(s)? How full is the hard drive? How much memory do you have? A two hour show at that sample rate can be up in the multiple gigs of storage requirements.
You rapidly run out of horsepower when you first start managing long, complex shows.
I did the sample rate change at the bottom left. Audacity becomes laggy after I do it. The files are song files. My hard drive is small, but it’s not full. I have like 25+ gigs free. My memory sucks. I have like 256mbs.
I found a way I can re-sample the track by going to Track>Resample…, but that takes wayyyy too long and I’m not about to do that for every song.
Why doesn’t Audacity let you export to which sample rate you want? Then I could play these at 96k and export them to 44k without any lag problems. Not having that feature is really noobish. I think I’ll have to use a different program.
I figured out a way around it, but I’m wondering if this will mess with the quality…
If I keep it at 96k, then select the sample of the song I wanna export, switch to 44k, export, then switch back to 96k, it will export as 44k like I want and I can keep playing the song without lag. But, will switching back and forth from 96k to 44k like that mess with the quality at all?
No, not if you’re only exporting and then changing back again.
Changing the Project Rate should not be causing a lag, though 256 MB of RAM is pretty low for Windows, even for XP. Which version of Windows are you using?
The instant you run out of memory for the show, Audacity (and any program) has to swap work out to the hard drive. That puts performance in the trash bin. If we’re the first time you ever had to do live audio (or video) and not spreadsheets, email or Photoshop files, it’s a shock how fast you run out.