clicking noise and levels

[soundecology]

Hello,
First time poster here. Have been using Audacity for a couple of years with seemingly little problems that I could easily fix. The last few times that I've used it to do voice input using my microphone I've experienced some interesting problems. 1st. At about 27 seconds in during playback a clicking noise starts and continues sporadically thoughout. The other problem is that I can't get good microphone input levels. I've checked my mic (works perfectly in ProTools and with my recording device), I've attempted adjusting levels withing Audacity and withing my computer settings as well. I can boost the levels in my computer settings but that ends up resulting in a horrible hissing sound. I've even tried going through the line in. I'm baffled. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[kozikowski]

You got dangerously close to telling us what the microphone is and how it's connected.

Koz

[soundecology]

I have a shotgun mic (phantom power) and it is connected to my computer via the mic input.

[soundecology]

One additional piece of information I forgot to add is that I've also tried reinstalling Audacity. That also does not correct the problem.

[soundecology]

One problem solved by unchecking the box 'software playthrough' in the Audio I/O. This seems to have stopped the clicking noise, but I'm still experiencing the issue with low mic input levels. I have the computer's recording control 'boosted' and the levels maxed out. I also have Audacity's mic input level as high as it will go. I have double checked the operation of my mic including swapping out batteries, using with ProTools, and with my MD recorder. All levels there are fine, so I think it's safe to rule out problems with the mic. Imported sound levels are fine. I recorded my voice on ProTools and imported it as an mp3. I've also used my line-in with my MD and that works fine. I'm baffled. It's worked fine before.

[steve]

If you have ProTools, why are you using Audacity?

[soundecology]

Two reasons. 1. It's on my PC and I use it for quickly editing short projects without booting up my MAC. 2. I teach community radio volunteers how to use it.