Audacity Forum

How can I use my USB headset to record? I have tried to find out how to do this.

I am a beginner. I have been trying to get started with Audacity for some time.
I recently purchased the new e-book on Podcasting with Audacity.

I saw this post in the forum:
New headset / mic issues by da_qtip on Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:25 am
And noted the reply by stevethefiddle on Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:56 pm
Click on the menu "Edit->Preferences->Audio I/O" and make sure that your USB device is selected for both recording and playback device.

I opened Audacity ® 1.3.4-beta (Unicode)
I was able to play a file I had previously recorded in Audacity in January, 2007 during an earlier effort to get started. Something has changed on my system since then. I still have Audacity 1.2.6 but it no longer lists the C-Media USB Sound Device as a recording device option and neither does Skype. It played through my desktop speakers. I changed the playback device to my USB device and it played through my headset.

I tried to record a new file, but the line on the display stayed flat. It looks like I should be able to choose C-Media USB Sound Device for my recording device, but it is not on the list.

Edit/Preferences/Audio I/O shows:
Playback device choices are:
MME: C-Media USB Sound Device (currently selected)
MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
MME: SigmaTel Audio (This is my sound card.)
MME: Modem #4Line Playback

Recording device choices are: (I tried all three.)
MME: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input (currently selected)
MME: SigmaTel Audio (This is my sound card.)
MME: Modem #4Line Playback

Edit/Preferences/ Quality shows:
Default Sample Rate 44100 HZ
Default Sample Format 16-bit

I installed a new driver on 1-31-2008. NB_Dock_audioDriver10 for C-Media USB Sound. Since I am new to this, I am reluctant to simply remove that to see if that helps. I wanted to ask in the forum first, in case this is something simple to deal with.

If I can get past that first hurdle, I will try to learn how to manage the files Audacity creates. I hope the e-book will help me get started with that. A folder I created with the name headset 1-27-2007 data contain files B00000.au – B00014.au. Will I be able to record a message and just save it to a file? Maybe I should ask about that as a separate issue after I do some more reading?

I tried to keep this as short as I could and still provide the pertinent information.

Any response would be greatly appreciated.

I can record with my USB Headset now!

My original post on this thread inspired me to try removing my recent driver updates and that did allow me to see C-Media USB Sound Device as a recording device choice.

I removed the program listed as C-Media USB Sound Driver in my Windows XPSP2 Home Edition Add or Remove Programs. On Driver Agent it was referred to as USB Composite Device, dated 7-1-2001, Version 5.1.2611.0 and the description was Kensington Notebook Dock Audio. This does not sound right for a Dell Dimension Desktop driver.

I also removed KB888111WXPSP2 since I also have High Definition Audio Driver Package KB835221 installed and they seem to be duplicates. They both said they were Microsoft Corporation Version 20040219.000000, so I kept the older one.

Now I can move on to learn about recording and how to save the files without creating any unnecessary or extra ones.

Have a look at this section of the manual - it covers how to Export audio files, and the difference between Saving projects and Exporting audio files:
http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/inde ... _exporting