Windows 11 or Audio Driver applying Unwanted EQ to recordings made with 3.7.1

Windows or Audio Driver applying Unwanted EQ to recordings made with DAW

Attached is a screenshot of Audacity Spectrum of the recording of white noise I made in Audacity:

As you can see, there is a dip between 600 and 700Hz that looks suspiciously like EQ being applied somewhere, and I don’t know how or where to turn it off! Anyone in the audio field knows that white noise should measure flat, with no major rises or dips in it.

2024 Lenovo Laptop
Audio Drivers/APOs: RealtekHD, Dolby, etc.

I have looked in all of my Sound settings, in RealTek, recording, playback, microphones, enhancements are uncheckboxed in all locations.

Disabling any APO(audio processing objs) results in the attached error image from Audacity. (enabling the apo/s allows Audacity to record)

Please help!

I record professionally and don’t want any effects applied unless I’m applying them.

1 Like

Either there is a third “audio enhancement”, or one of those two are stuck on, or being re-enabled
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/one-of-my-audio-drivers-realtek-hd-audio-keeps-re/

Just checking: you generated the white noise in Audacity, and are recording it internally: no microphones or loudspeakers involved in the recording.

Trebor:

Actually, I did test recordings in Audacity of the pink and white noise from this site and others:

‘The Ultimate White Noise Player’

And the Audacity spectro of all recordings had that same dip centered between 600-700Hz.

It is also appearing in spectros of recordings of audio off streaming sites as well. I am able to compensate for it using Audacity’s filter EQ curve tool, but it would save both time and produce a more neutral recording in the first place if something wasn’t adding this EQ.

If I remove or disable the Realtek HD, Audacity returns the error I posted a screen shot of.

You are intentionally muffling the spectrum display. Increase the “Size” setting and the sharpness and accuracy of the display lumps will increase.

I’m interested in the valley collection.

1500
3000
6000
12000

We’ll see what it looks like when you bump up the Size number.

That could be what it looks like when you play the noise flat into a speaker and then record a microphone in an echoy room.

Do you do overdubbing? That setup runs the Record Service and Playback Service at the time. That can give some odd distortions if you don’t know it’s happening.

Koz

Kozikowski:

I played with the sizes already.

What you see is what I got.

Those minor dips in the HF pale in comparison to the elephant in the 600-700Hz region.

If I had Record and Playback at the (same?) time, the whole-ole-OLE-OLE NEIGH-NEIGH-BOR-BOR-HOOD-HOOD would hear it.

That does offer a custom noise profile …
custom noise
what you’ve posted could be one of those custom curves, (rather than true white noise).

I would use white-noise generated in Audacity as a reference: it’s not been colored by codecs.

I know a lot more about that site than you guys. I used the thing. I selected Pink, which is a flat EQ, not that custom curve you screenshotted. I know what I’m doing, and what is being recorded.

My focus now is to get out of the chain what ever is causing that massive dip centered in the 600s, and affecting everything from 300Hz up to 1kc.

Actually, it’s not.

Pink noise is equal energy per octave, so it’s tipped.

What does your screen shot look like when you just generate either white or pink. No recording. The above is a ten second generation.

Koz

That is correct.

Pink noise generated by Audacity itself returns a curve like the one you screen-shared.

White is flat across.

The dip I’m referring to is when I record noise generated by a third-party site. White noise, pink noise, regardless of third party site, all ends up with the same 650ish Hz dip in it.

Cool. That’s what is supposed to happen. Post it please.

Koz

I already verbally confirmed it. Take my word please.

Understand the difference between ‘internally generated tone’ vs ‘recorded from external’ tone.

It is in the latter case that the weird EQ dip is occurring.

In my Win11 Device Manager, audio section, are the APOs (audio processing objects).

I have read various sources that they can apply unwanted effects, possibly EQ, to recordings made with a DAW such as Audacity or other.

Attempts at disabling, one at a time, any of the APOs I red-boxed, results in the “error opening recording device” message from Audacity I shared in my first post.

Never seen that audio enhancement before, it’s dedicated to improving VoIP audio.
[ Looks like Audacity multi-view on their website … 大象声科|ELEVOC大象声科 ].

I know you’re looking for “push this button” and the problem vanishes. If we haven’t nailed it by now, you have what’s classically called a “Tough Dog” problem. So now the rules change.

I already verbally confirmed it. Take my word please.

Remember that? That’s an experienced user with their list of things that can’t possibly be broken. Since neither of us knows what’s broken, you can’t use that list any more.

Check Everything.

Another troubleshooting technique is to reduce the environment or system and keep reducing it until it either starts working or goes Hindenberg.

You’ve already had failures in this area.

Attempts at disabling, one at a time, any of the APOs I red-boxed, results in the “error opening recording device” message from Audacity I shared in my first post.
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2024 Lenovo Laptop

Since this is a laptop, it should have a built-in microphone, right? I would generate white or pink noise on my phone and play it to the laptop in a quiet, echo-free room. Record it. That will split the record and playback sound pathways. I’m not expecting laboratory grade curves, but I wonder if there’s a 650Hz hole in the display. If there isn’t then the problem may be on the playback side.

There are two odd possibilities. You’re not the only user on your machine. Someone has taken up residence in your system and is listening-in as you go.

The other less gentle possibility is you’re not a real poster and you’re having a good time leading us on.

Oh, yes, that does happen.

Koz

Missed one. If you do figure out what the problem is, post back. This is not a Help Desk. It’s a Forum with users helping each other.

Koz

Now, on my Lenovo Laptop it has a mini-1/8" jack on the left hand side, but seems to be a headphone jack only, not a line-in/aux jack. I tried every setting in the book to get it to accept audio-in, but I guess it’s not high-end enough to have line-in.

I’m not Fox or Sky news.

I’m a legitimate poster with a real problem.

I’ve recorded audio off the internet via Audacity, on my previous tower and another laptop for years, with excellent results.

Since you insist on it, here is screenshot of the spectro of pink noise generated by Audacity:

No rises/falls/dips/anything else.

There’s a terrifically high chance that’s a headset connection, not headphone.

As it says in the illustration, sometimes the Ground (common) and Microphone are reversed. The goal is for you to be able to use either Headphones or a Headset and have both work.

The microphone connection is mono (not stereo) and microphone level — very low volume. It is possible to whip up your own analog connection, but it’s not for the easily frightened. The headset connection is common because it’s the one used for Skype, Zoom, Meetings, etc. Also common is the computer’s insane insistence to add filters and processing to “help you out.” Such as the 650Hz dip.

I have several U-Control UCA202 units for plain analog connection.

It’s most of the analog connections that you had on the older machines—and headphone monitoring. It connects via USB.

One of the ways to “cheat” recording the internet is to connect a UCA-202 and then just jump the outputs to the inputs with a simple RCA cable.

Play the internet work to the UCA-202 and record from the UCA-202. It’s the computer internal routing that gets you in trouble if you don’t do it that way.

Do you still have your tower around?

You might find that’s the way to get your work done while we’re figuring out this problem.

Oh, and to avoid flying under false colours, I’m a Mac Forum Elf, not Windows. So any minute now we’re going to get a real Windows Elf to drop by and tell us which button to push to make the distortion go away.

Koz

Unfortunately not. Power supply died. Old Vista tower.

I can listen to headphones just fine through that TRRS jack. On some laptops the jack doubles as a Line-in. Just have to configure it that way in Sound settings.

OK, but that was the OS, that’s not who made it. I have replaced power supplies. It’s not that hard. Usually one big multi-connection cable and the power cord.

Match either the computer maker or the motherboard maker.

We may be approaching the problem. Google “Lenovo (your model) Sound Problems.”

Koz