Recently I have noticed that after recording music on Audacity, the playback of that music is mushy, distorted, unpleasant. I have gone to Diagnostics and there are logs of my sound card there, so if anyone wants to look at them I can send them(I hope!). My Sound card is Realtek and everything with it seems OK and live music from the Internet sounds good.
I ALSO discovered an entry under Diagnostics that " A debug report has been generated in the directory…" Does anything happen to that? A copy should be on my computer
Where can we go from here?
Thanks
Audacity 2.4.1, Windows 10 Home, updated.
What are you recording from? …The microphone built-into your laptop? …Streaming Audio? …Something else?
Audacity displays a microphone BUT I do not have a microphone.
My Sound Properties, displays “Recording Device, Stereo Mix” Realtek Hi Definition Audio, 2 channel , 16 bit 48000hz
I have noticed that the recorded sound display shows the wave peaks as flattened, similarly to when you have to apply reduced amplification when editing if things are too loud. Having used Audacity for years, but NOT as an advanced user, I don’t recall that the tops of loud passages were flattened when NOT recorded at a level that would necessitate that. Is there some setting that I might have inadvertently set that causes this “flattening”?
My Sound Properties, displays “Recording Device, Stereo Mix”
Does that mean you’re recording streaming audio? If so, the [u]WASAPI Loopback[/u] will accurately capture the digital audio stream. (Stereo Mix can be “processed” depending on your settings.)
Audacity displays a microphone BUT I do not have a microphone.
It’s just an icon representing the input or source of the audio to be recorded.
I don’t recall that the tops of loud passages were flattened when NOT recorded at a level that would necessitate that. Is there some setting that I might have inadvertently set that causes this “flattening”?
If you are recording from the Internet you can find some poorly produced recordings. And, many of the streaming services now do automatic volume matching so a file that’s too-loud and clipping (flat-top & flat-bottom waves) will be reduced in volume but the distortion will remain.
I don’t know exactly what you mean by “streaming”. There are two sources that I typically record from:
1: Classical music playing from a classical music radio station on the Internet. I guess most of it is some recording they are playing, although sometimes they list it as a “live” performance but I am sure they have recorded it first. I SWEAR I used to get much better sound quality than I get now, and I did not have “flattened” wave tops in the past if I recorded at the appropriate level
2: Recording music from Youtube, uploaded music that others have put there. Yes, the quality varies and there are usually multiple recordings of the same piece, and I try them all and look for the best to record - AND they still don’t sound as good after playing them from the Audacity recording I made, whereas I used to get very good results.
Regarding MME vs WASAPI, I have always used MME and have had enough problems with recording, every time W 10 has an update, I have had to spend hours trying to be able to record again.!!!
I don’t know exactly what you mean by “streaming”. There are two sources that I typically record from:
1: Classical music playing from a classical music radio station on the Internet…
2: Recording music from Youtube, uploaded music that others have put there…
Yes, you are capturing a digital audio stream. As opposed to recording analog from a microphone or from a USB turntable, etc. When you capture streaming audio the sound doesn’t go through your soundcard.
I SWEAR I used to get much better sound quality than I get now, and I did not have “flattened” wave tops in the past if I recorded at the appropriate level
OK… But with WASAPI loopback you can’t even adjust the recording level. (Of course you can adjust it after recording.) You get the “direct” audio (after it’s decompressed).
With Stereo Mix you get the volume adjustments as well as any “enhancements” such as EQ that may be applied by your soundcard utility. There are more variables/unknowns.
The one odd thing with WASAPI loopback is that it won’t start recording when there is no audio stream. It can be silent, but there has to be audio data flowing-in.
Thanks, but what about the “bug report” that I uncovered in Audacity diagnostics and what about the log files that I also have. Would they mean anything if someone (you?) looked at them? (The log files are extremely long and look like some really complicated registry stuff)
maybe I will TRY to summon up the courage to look into WASAPI
Would they mean anything if someone (you?) looked at them? (The log files are extremely long and look like some really complicated registry stuff)
It probably wouldn’t mean anything to me. But a “bug” is very unlikely to cause distortion.
Something might be altering the audio before Audacity sees it. Otherwise, [u]dropouts[/u] are about the only thing that can go wrong digitally.
maybe I will TRY to summon up the courage to look into WASAPI
It’s only a couple of mouse clicks. 
What should I do with the bug report? I don’t think it went anywhere, just into my files . Shouldn’t I be able to send it to a technician at Audacity and if so, how to do it?
I am trying the WASPI.
I am sure it is the same in MME but I have to reduce the recording volume to .47 to keep from getting the red warnings. I am really surprised at how low I have to set the volume! Are a few red warnings OK or should I try not to have any?