Poor sound playing exported MP3 on Windows Media Player 11

[Jacktar]

Audacity stable working ok (except I need a better quality microphone), however when I export my stuff into MP3 using Lame and then try to listen to it in Windows Media Player 11 it sounds all tinny and scratchy. I can then listen to the very same file in Audacity or on a cd player and it sounds ok. It is only in Windows Media Player 11 that it sounds terrible. All other MP3 files from other sources play just fine on the Win Media Player. Anyone have a solution?

[alatham]

Why do we see so many problems with Windows Media Player 11?

I can't tell you why WMP sucks so bad, but I can tell you this: Audacity and your CD player are not lying to you. If the audio sounds good playing through those, then there's nothing wrong with the file. The problem is with WMP 11.

Just as a wild guess, you could try making the output file stereo (in case the files you have now are mono). Before exporting, click Project -> New Stereo Track and then export, this will force Audacity to export to a stereo file, even if all the audio is mono. Does the problem still occur?

Also, what bit rate are you exporting to, and what kind of audio does the file contain (music, voice, noise)?

Finally, try exporting to wav, does that still sound bad?

[waxcylinder]

You could try downloading iTunes - it's free even if you don't own an iPod - and it runs on PCs just fine. Makes a good jukebox/music player.

WC