problems recording - sound echo-y and tin-ny

[vtompke]

I have a new laptop and installed the new version of audacity - it comes with a internal mic and when I test this one it works fine when I play it back

HOWEVER, when I use the external microphone IN - it comes across like I am in a large cave - full of echo's - essentially unlisten-able - I have tried all the different settings but can't seem to get it to sound normal - can anyone help - we have tried to record sermons on Sunday through the sound board - same problem

[kozikowski]

Windows machines no longer present the charade that they're "Personal Entertainment Machines." They're business computers and certain adjustments have been made to make them work like that. They come out of the box set up for voice conferencing and usually have echo cancellation and auto gain control defaulted on. You need to find those settings and turn them off.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/FAQ: ... hancements

That and there's the matter of the Mic-In.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... pSound.jpg

The Mic-In on modern Windows laptops is not stereo and you can't plug your sound mixer into it. The only thing you can plug in is a conferencing or voice system microphone.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/PCHeadset.jpg

If you do have a "Computer Microphone" it will plug right in and work fine. If you have anything more powerful than that, you may need something like a UCA-202 USB audio adapter like this..

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/ ... Lenovo.jpg

Some computers do switch one connection between Stereo Line-In and Mono Mic-In. Consult your instructions. Most don't.

Koz