Increase input volume for system sound

[Natasha]

Greetings! I have just started working with Audacity to playback and export digital files of spoken interviews from my digital voice recorder. This most recent interview was done on the phone, and the volume is low. If I push the input volume up, I can hear it much better -- the sound is slightly distorted, but that's OK -- but the red bars on the meter toolbar are pushing off to the right. Can this damage my soundcard/computer at all?
Many thanks. Great program!
Natasha

[steve]

I've split your post off from the previous topic - It is generally best to start a new quiestion in a new topic as it's much easier to see and answer a fresh topic than to find something buried on the bottom of the third page of an old topic.

I'm not quite sure what you are doing. You've recorded something on a voice recorder of some sort, and then you've got a problem in Audacity. How do the recordings get from the voice recorder to Audacity? Does the recording "look" quiet in Audacity? (how big is the waveform compared to the height of the Audacity track?)

[Natasha]

I recorded an interview on my digital voice recorder, then imported it into Audacity via a double-ended 3.5mm stereo cable. The recording looks reasonably big - there are places where it's going off the top and bottom of the screen. I can hear it fine, but am concerned re the size of the waveforms.

The recorder is a Panasonic RR-US470, which I've been very happy with. My computer is a Mac.

[bgravato]

Distorted sound won't damage your computer.

Too high volume will cause clipping (distortion) which should be avoidable at all cost, because that will compromise the quality of the recording.

You should set the recording volume at a level for which the peak will occur at about half the maximum. On a 0 - 1.0 scale that would be 0.5. On a dB scale that would be -6dB.

It's usually better to record at a lower level and then use "amplify" effect in audacity, rather than recording at a too high volume and risking clipping. Because that damage can't be undone (damage here referring to the audible distortion in the sound quality of the produced sound file, not any damage to your hardware).

[steve]

You're not expected to know but it helps the discussion if we use the same terminology. We use the term "import" to mean copying a computer file into Audacity. It sounds to me that what you are doing is "recording" with Audacity - in effect, you are recording onto your computer the recording on your Panasonic. Have I got that right?

The recording looks reasonably big - there are places where it's going off the top and bottom of the screen.

That's too big. There should always be at least a small amount of gap between the waveform and the top/bottom of the track. Can you turn down the playback volume on the Panasonic while you are recording it into Audacity?

[steve]

My computer is a Mac.

If you could also say which version of Audacity you are using (look in Audacity "Help > About Audacity") I'll move this topic to the correct forum.

[Natasha]

Yes, I am recording. I'm using version 1.3.12- beta.