Sound Quality Issue

[Crymson]

Hey,

First off, I really like your product. Thanks for all the work you put into it.

I do have one small issue. After installing the program, the quality of my sound abruptly changed (the balance controls were, for some reason, reset to normal as well, but this was easy to fix); I was listening to music at the time, and the transition was noticeable. Ever since, music through my headphones has been harsh and somewhat painful. I have tried uninstalling the program, restarting, etc., but this does not solve the problem. I was curious as to what central audio settings the installation of Audacity may have changed, and how I might undo those changes.

Thanks in advance!

[Crymson]

Sorry, I forgot some details: I’m using the newest version of the program; I’m on Windows 7; and I used the .exe installer.

[Gale_Andrews]

@Crymson

After installing the program, the quality of my sound abruptly changed (the balance controls were, for some reason, reset to normal as well, but this was easy to fix);

Are you actually using the latest 2.0.5 version of Audacity? That’s why we ask for the full three-section version number (see the pink panel above).

@Crymson

I was listening to music at the time, and the transition was noticeable. Ever since, music through my headphones has been harsh and somewhat painful.

Are you saying the music has become harsh because of the balance change?

Does this problem occur in other programs than Audacity?

@Crymson

I have tried uninstalling the program, restarting, etc., but this does not solve the problem.

Reinstalling Audacity rarely solves anything unless you also reset preferences: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_installation_and_plug_ins.html#reset .

But I don’t think this is a case of corrupted preferences because a few users have complained about balance resets to normal in recent Audacity releases.

@Crymson

I was curious as to what central audio settings the installation of Audacity may have changed, and how I might undo those changes.

Audacity doesn’t set out to change any audio settings, but please confirm what three-section version number of Audacity you are using. There was a chance the balance reset noted above may have been cured by the audio changes for 2.0.5, but I have not seen any reports so far to confirm or deny that. I should explain that much of Audacity’s audio behaviour is governed not by Audacity but by the third-party PortAudio audio interface we use.


Gale