Getting the most from XM Online

[racsw]

Hi,
This really is a pretty awesome piece of software, my congratulations.
I really like the potential for me to record my incoming XM Radio Online while I'm at the computer, and later load it onto my MP3 player for me to listen to while I work out.
I tested Audacity doing this, and it seems to work very well.
I'm not any sound expert, but I sure would appreciate any tips or suggestions on how to properly set up Audacity to get the best quality and reproduction from my XM Online. My initial setup is set for "What you Hear", Stereo 2 channel, but other than that, I don't know what else should be tweaked.

Thanks,
Robert

[alatham]

Probably nothing. Audacity's default recording format is very good (32-bit, 44.1KHz), better than CD quality (not that most humans could tell the difference). However, most standard sound cards won't record at higher than 16-bit (is this still true?), so it might be pointless to use that high a setting if you're not mixing together multiple tracks.

If you're really worried about it, you can change the sample rate setting to 48 or 96KHz, but if you're planning on burning CDs from those recordings, you'll have to resample them down to the lower rate anyway. If you're making CDs, stick with 44.1KHz, if you're not making CDs, then feel free to go higher (though the difference probably will not be audible, especially if it's not broadcast at a higher rate).

[racsw]

OK, thank you for the nice reply.
I'm not an audio buff, and there is a lot of settings in there to accommodate those who are, so I thought I might be missing a tweak or two.
It's nice to see a piece of software that works so well "out of the box".
So far, I've recorded several hour or longer XM Broadcasts and converted into MPEG format. They play back with no discernible audio defects to this untrained ear.
A great product, simply great

Regards,
Robert

[waxcylinder]

rascw,

one tweak you might want to make is to up the bitrate of the MP3 export. Audacity's default is 128, which is normally regarded as the minimum requirement for music. You may want to up this to 192 or even 256. The higher the bitrate though, the bigger the MP3 file (in more-or-less direct proportion) - so it is a trade-off between audio quality and disc occupancy. If your MP3 player/iPod whatever has loads of disc space this may not be a problem for you. Try some listening tests with a known piece of music at different bitrates.

To reset the MP3 export bitrate in Audacity 1.2.x: Edit/Preferences and select the File Formats tab - at the bottom you will see the MP3 bitrate setting. Note that you will only be able to change this if you have installed LAME correctly.

alatham's advice re. settings for CD production is good.

WC

[racsw]

That's great.
I upped it to 192.

Once again, thank you for all your help.

Robert