new sound quality

[sneezedreamer]

Hey guys, I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I could use some help.

I just got a new computer, and tried recording a .wav for you all - sadly the sound quality is no where near as good as on my other .wavs, and I'm really frustrated. I have the settings for the mic in the same spots as on my old computer (recommended in the sticky for how to make a good sneeze .wav), but it still sounds a little echoey, kind of like I'm underwater (there's a rushing sound in the background that gets louder at points, but I don't think it's always my breath). Any tips on how to make it sound better would be very much appreciated!

[haeeshoo]

Hey guys, I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I could use some help.

I just got a new computer, and tried recording a .wav for you all - sadly the sound quality is no where near as good as on my other .wavs, and I'm really frustrated. I have the settings for the mic in the same spots as on my old computer (recommended in the sticky for how to make a good sneeze .wav), but it still sounds a little echoey, kind of like I'm underwater (there's a rushing sound in the background that gets louder at points, but I don't think it's always my breath). Any tips on how to make it sound better would be very much appreciated!

Hello Sneezedreamer,

Without information about which program you use and which settings you configured it is nearly impossible to diagnose your problem.

Anyway here are some stabs in the dark:

1. most likely your recording program has an option to set the sample rate at which you are recording. Make sure to put it on 44100 HZ , i.e. CD quality

2. perhaps your microphone is of worse quality than the one in your old computer

Best regards,

Haeeshoo.

[Nevyn]

If the volume is ok then the settings to check are sampling rate and, if available, bit rate. As haeeshoo said above, sampling rate of 44.1k should be more than good enough for a .wav. Bit rate of 128 should be fine.

Are you using the internal microphone in a laptop? If so, do you still have the external microphone from before? You could try plugging that in and see if it helps.

If you're still having problems let me know what software you're using to record and playback, and if possible send me a sample file (doesn't matter what it is, just a few seconds of speech or something will do) and I'll see if I can figure something out.

[sneezomania]

I'd suggest that you publish one low-quality recording for "analysis" purposes. Being able to listen to it would perhaps make it easier to guess what's wrong.

[Lynne]

Guys, enough of that. If someone who actually knows what they're doing wants to help her, then she can probably send them a sound clip of her talking or whatever. If she wanted to "publish" something, she would have. These comments are starting to come off as somewhat pushy and demanding.

[Nevyn]

Guys, enough of that. If someone who actually knows what they're doing wants to help her, then she can probably send them a sound clip of her talking or whatever. If she wanted to "publish" something, she would have. These comments are starting to come off as somewhat pushy and demanding.

If my earlier post wasn't clear enough, specifically the part where I said "doesn't matter what it is, just a few seconds of speech or something will do", then I apologise. To clarify: as long as the same equipment is used to record it, it doesn't matter if the sample file is a 90 year old man reading from the newspaper or complaining about the price of milk, it just needs to have audible sound that exhibits the problems under discussion.

And if anyone really believes that this is some kind of thinly veiled attempt on my part to demand .wavs from someone then I honestly don't know what I'm doing here any more.

[Nicole]

And if anyone really believes that this is some kind of thinly veiled attempt on my part to demand .wavs from someone then I honestly don't know what I'm doing here any more.

I don't think it sounded like that at all, Nevyn. Not that my opinion is the most important one, but I just wanted to let you know.

[Enkidom]

And if anyone really believes that this is some kind of thinly veiled attempt on my part to demand .wavs from someone then I honestly don't know what I'm doing here any more.

I don't think it sounded like that at all, Nevyn. Not that my opinion is the most important one, but I just wanted to let you know.

Me either .

Sneezedreamer, if you use an external mic, have you checked the wiring? The wiring on some of the external microphones is very fragile, any kind of knock can affect it. You say there is an echoey sound, like being underwater? When I was speaking to one particular friend on Skype, their connection always used to sound like it was underwater. Eventually we diagnosed the problem as the computer microphone interfering with the webcam microphone. Do you have a webcam or something plugged in? If so, try disconnecting it before recording.

[sneezomania]

Guys, enough of that. If someone who actually knows what they're doing wants to help her, then she can probably send them a sound clip of her talking or whatever. If she wanted to "publish" something, she would have. These comments are starting to come off as somewhat pushy and demanding.

In case this refers to my entry: I absolutely didn't mean it that way. She wants to publish something anyway (or distribute to forum members, if not strictly publishing), so I thought it'd be OK to make such a suggestion.

If I can hear a wave, perhaps I can tell what's wrong. Whether it sounds like a microphone fault or like a recording bitrate mistake or whatever.

And of course it's sneezedreamer's decision whether she wants to make some demo recording available to others. I didn't demand or push anything, I just suggested something.

However, I see the danger of entries like that being misunderstood, so I hope it's clarified now.

[sneezedreamer]

Thank you all for your suggestions, and your offers of help! I may put up or send some of you folks a quick recording (just of me talking, not a sneeze .wav - I'm kind of a perfectionist about those and don't want to send out something with crappy sound quality).

And Lynne, while I appreciate you looking after me, I didn't interpret any of the suggestions or advice as pushy or demanding. It sounded to me like people just want to get a better understanding of what's going on with my mic.

At any rate, to answer your questions:

I do have an external microphone, and I probably have dropped it a few times! As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with the wiring on that. There is a webcam built into my computer, which I personally have never used, but my sister may have fooled around with it a bit just after I got the computer. Would I have to change any of the settings on that?

I have also changed the settings on the sound control panel several times. I currently have the mic set to 2 channel, 16 bit, 96000 Hz (studio quality), which doesn't sound so echoey, but still slightly "fuzzy" in the background. I've tried 44100 Hz (CD quality) and 48000 Hz (DVD quality), which was what I always used on my old computer. The mic sound level and microphone boost are both set to the maximum. And the files are saved as a WMA (Window's Media Audio files).

[Lynne]

Nevyn, apologies, it wasn't directed at you.

[Nevyn]

Lynne: apology accepted, let's assume we're all on the same side and move on. (And thanks to Nicole and Enkidom for the reassurance.)

Sneezedreamer: One more thing to discount is whether the issue is the recording or the playback. If you listen to one of your old wavs (or some other wav you're familiar with, in case you're someone who doesn't like to hear herself) does it still sound the same as on your old computer?

If the problem persists:

When you make a recording make sure your computer speakers are muted (not just turned down), and no headphones are plugged in. It's possible you're getting acoustic echo (sound from the speakers leaking back into the microphone) especially if you have everything boosted to maximum. Also try reducing the microphone boost some.

Try changing from 2 channels (stereo) to 1 (mono) and see what effect that has.

You really shouldn't have to go to 96KHz to get a decent sound for a wav - I still remember when we used to do them in 22 or even 11K and they were usually ok. I don't think the sampling rate is the problem here. Then again if I've understood you correctly you're saying they're echoey at 44.1K but not at 96K? That's a puzzle...

[Enkidom]

There is a webcam built into my computer, which I personally have never used, but my sister may have fooled around with it a bit just after I got the computer. Would I have to change any of the settings on that?

Might be worth checking whether it is set as "on" or not - or if there is a setting for what sort of sound input it uses as a default. If it uses the microphone you're using for recording it isn't likely to be an interference issue; if it doesn't and uses a built in mic or something like that it could be that the two are interfering with each other.