E MU 1212 / Audacity Recording at 24 bit?

[davethewave]

Audacity 2.22
XP
I looked for the answer in other posts but still not sure.My soundcard is 24 bit but as far as I know doesn't support WASAPI.
Audacity setting is MME.Am I recording at 24 or 16?

[roadsterUK]

Its hard to say because Audacity will always convert up to 32 bit float internally. If your device is 24 bit capable you can set the default quality up by selecting the sounds option after right clicking the basic speaker icon in the toolbar. Choose your recording device and select properties then using the advanced tab select your desired default which will show 24 bit if available. Within Audacity choose the wasapi option if your device drivers allow that. It would be unusual not to have wasapi available if your system and drivers are up to date.

[steve]

Audacity setting is MME.Am I recording at 24 or 16?

You are recording 16-bit data. To capture the full 24-bit you need to use WASAPI or ASIO. Audacity does not ship with ASIO support due to license restrictions, so that leaves WASAPI. Windows XP does not have WASAPI.

Your options are:

• Make do with 16-bit. So long as you take reasonable care setting levels, this should not affect the recording adversely. The main benefit of 24-bit recording is that you don't need to be anywhere near as careful about setting the recording levels.
• Build Audacity from the source code and enable ASIO support (unless you are an experienced C++ programmer, this is probably not an option)
• Use Windows 7 or later
• Use a different computer
• Replace XP with a modern Linux operating system.