Muffled recording

[gordknows]

Hi,
I'm running XP, and while Audacity used to work fine (in version 1.2x) I've downloaded the 1.3x and it's terrible. So I uninstalled and reinstalled 1.2x and the same problem, so again, uninstalled and reinstalled 1.3x again. Doesn't matter which variation of them I choose, they're all with the same effect, like recording down a long cardboard tube - muffled and warbling, with background noise fading in and out like I'm recording under water.
I tried it on my other XP netbook as well - same result. So this is Audacity - both computers work fine, soundcards are up to date, other recording methods are fine, but recording off the net, or from a mic, come out terribly.
Any ideas?
Many thanks for any help,
Gordon

[steve]

You should use Audacity 1.3.12 (1.2.6 is really old and no longer supported).

The problem is due the sound card settings. Probably due to "Echo Cancellation" or "Noise Reduction" being enabled (they should be disabled).

[gordknows]

Thank you thank you thank you
You've just made my Christmas
Gordon