Low Quality Audio

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hello!

I’d like to use Audacity to record audio picked up from a wall stethoscope (sometimes sold as a “wall eavesdropping device” the device is pressed against a surface and amplifies any noise it picks up. I’ve hooked the device up to my computer using a double-ended audio jack and made some test recordings, but I have run into a problem.

The audio picked up is nowhere near as clear as when I plug headphones directly into the wall stethoscope. I’d really appreciate some help figuring out how I can improve the quality of the audio.

I have also tried recording using a much simpler online tool (https://online-voice-recorder.com) and I faced the exact same issue.

The audio I’m picking up is fairly quiet - may that’s an issue? There are some very loud portions, for example when the stethoscope rubs against the wall etc. maybe the big difference in levels could be the issue?

I’m running version 2.3.2

Any help is appreciated!
Jemma

2

You shouldn’t expect great quality listening through walls and we shouldn’t be helping you with anything illegal. But, it should be possible to accurately “capture” what you’re hearing directly in the headphones.

I’d guess you have a “mismatch” between the stethoscope’s headphone-output and your computer’s microphone input. A headphone or line-output is about 100 times stronger than a microphone’s output.

Have you got any information about that device?

How is it connected to your computer? Microphone input?

Does your computer have a line-input, or only microphone-in and headphone-out?