Echoes on Audacity Recordings

[SB]

I have a Toshiba Qosmio with built in sound card, mic and speakers. It
has Windows CXP Media Centre (I rarely use the latter). I have been
trying to capture audio streams from Radio 7 using Sudacity. However
there is akways an echo on playback because the audio stream seems to
come from the speakers, and is then picked up by the mic. Or it could
be that Media Centre and the built-in sound card are also recording the
sound with a slight delay between them. Can anyone suggest how I can
record using eithetr Media centre OR the sound card but not via the
mic. Many thanks. SB.

 

[Chris Laarman]

SB ([email protected]) in
(e-mail address removed):

I have a Toshiba Qosmio with built in sound card, mic and speakers. It
has Windows CXP Media Centre (I rarely use the latter). I have been
trying to capture audio streams from Radio 7 using Sudacity. However
there is akways an echo on playback because the audio stream seems to
come from the speakers, and is then picked up by the mic. Or it could
be that Media Centre and the built-in sound card are also recording
the sound with a slight delay between them. Can anyone suggest how I
can record using eithetr Media centre OR the sound card but not via
the mic. Many thanks. SB.

No answers, as I'm not familiar with XP Media Centre, but:

1) I would expect the microphone to be muted when you're recording from
another source. Check this.

2) Is the echo really in the recording, or could it be added as an effect
upon playback? You could check settings, or transfer the recorded file to an
unsuspected device (like an iPod).

 

[SB]

Chris - very many thanks for responding. Audacity has a drop down menu
for the input options. These are only for Mic / Line / Stereo Mix -
curiously there are no other options such as CD, Video, etc. - the
laptop is bristling with media input ports. Anyway it appears that the
Stereo Mix option is the one that connects to the sound card. BUT even
when using that there are echoes in the recording. The only way of
removing them is a fine balance of the various volume controls (3 !!),
and recording in mono. Audacity has to split the input track into left
and right and then I have to mute say the left one and only record the
right one. This kind of works. But the resultant recording is by no
means as 'pure' (aka sans echoes) as the original audio stream. SB.

 

[Chris Laarman]

SB ([email protected]) in
(e-mail address removed):

Chris - very many thanks for responding. Audacity has a drop down menu
for the input options. These are only for Mic / Line / Stereo Mix -
curiously there are no other options such as CD, Video, etc. - the
laptop is bristling with media input ports. Anyway it appears that the
Stereo Mix option is the one that connects to the sound card. BUT even
when using that there are echoes in the recording. The only way of
removing them is a fine balance of the various volume controls (3 !!),
and recording in mono. Audacity has to split the input track into left
and right and then I have to mute say the left one and only record the
right one. This kind of works. But the resultant recording is by no
means as 'pure' (aka sans echoes) as the original audio stream. SB.

Well, that seems to answer the first of my two questions. But I'm not sure
if you answered my second one. (I may see ambiguity where you think you're
unmistakable...)

I mean: you could have a Stereo Reverb or whatever active as a DirectX
effect.

You'll know the effects in Audacity's Effect menu. But if you indicated
under Edit | Preferences | Audio_I/O to play back through "Microsoft Sound
Mapper", then you might (I'm not sure!) end up using any effects actve in
Windows Media Player. That is why I suggested trying playback using a device
like an iPod.

 

[SB]

Aha - thanks for those tips. I had heard a rumour that Media Centre
also captures audio input and processes this with software, whilst at
the same time the sound card captures this and also processes it. Then
the latter is heard as an echo of the former. I read that the trick is
to mute the former. But I haven't a clue how to do that. Now for some
reason MS Sound Mapper doesn't seem to be available as a menu option
when I try and configure the sound card. It used to be!! But I will
investigate the reverb effects. The same echo problem is occurring with
Blaize Media Pro - but that is not as easy to use and configure as
Audacity. Many thanks again - SB.