Recording levels dropped

[rryanp]

I have an input going into the "Line In" on the back of my computer (through a male-to-male 3.5mm cord), and I've recorded many things in Audacity with it that were perfect. Without me doing anything, the levels were just right (they would be in the -0.8 to +0.8 range on the -1 to +1 scale on the left of a track.

I didn't use it for a while, and since then have plugged in a microphone and used a USB headset. When I went to record again today, the levels were very low--maybe 25% of what they used to be (note that I did not change the input volume/level of the source). I unplugged the mic and the USB headset, upped the recording level of the input (through Windows) to 100, and then restarted the computer, but that didn't fix the problem. It's frustrating because I know the sound card and software are capable of getting the right levels, but now I just can't make it work.

I'm on version 1.3.14 (though this also happened on 1.2.6) on a 64-bit Win 7 machine. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[kozikowski]

I've recorded many things in Audacity

Such as? Try to stay from fuzzy generalities when you're describing your problem. That doesn't help us.

have plugged in a microphone and used a USB headset.

At once? Plugging a USB headset to a Windows machine can cause the machine to reconfigure itself for the headset. It's designed to do that. Win7 defaults to conferencing, not entertaining recording.

If Audacity input controls are all the way up and Windows the way you were using it before fails all the way up fials, you might try to turn background suppression off. Again, it's a conferencing service.

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

Koz

[rryanp]

I was not intending to give a "fuzzy generality"--my point is that I've made a recording from that line-in input source many times, and it worked fine. Now today, it doesn't. The input source and source level did not change. The only thing that changed was that since I last recorded successfully, I have plugged in a microphone (into the microphone port of the computer) and a USB headset (into a USB port). I imagined that the USB headset might have "messed with" the Windows sound settings, so I unplugged it (and the microphone as well, just in case), restarted the computer, and that did not help. Granted, unplugging it may not reverse whatever it did to the sound settings, but I don't know where to begin looking. There are a lot of various options in the Windows 7 Properties window for "Line In," and I'm not familiar enough with what they all do to know what to try to adjust (the Levels tab was the only thing that made sense, and I moved that up to 100 thinking that was sure to solve the problem, but it had no effect).

Anyway, I posted in the hopes there might be some Audacity setting I was not aware of to pump up those levels, though my research indicated there wasn't. It's probably a Windows issue though, so I'll look down that path. Thanks.

[steve]

I was not intending to give a "fuzzy generality"

I'm sure you weren't, but as you go on to say "there are a lot of various options" in the Windows sound system. It's not a straightforward thing at all and the details are all important.

I suspect that the Windows sound systems "Enhancements" may have become "enabled", so you may need to switch them off again.

I also wonder "why" you were using a USB headset. That may be an important detail. Were you using Skype or some other VOIP application? By default Skype will continue running in the background even when you close it, and will automatically restart itself when you reboot, but Skype is a common culprit for messing up recording. Whatever program you were using with the USB headset, ensure that it is completely closed and not running in the background.

To switch off all sound systems "Enhancements", see here: Why do my recordings fade out or sound as if they were made in a tunnel?