I have Audacity and like it a lot. But in the 'what you hear' mode it combines the two channels and records in mono, playing that back through both channels. Anyone know why, and how I can convince it to record in stereo?
That surprises me. I'll have to check how my copy works.
P.S. just ran it and asked for help. It told me that the enclosed help is not complete, only a quick reference, and that there's a full reference manual at audacity.soundforge.net/help/documentation. So, I went there and found that the site is up for sale and no mention of help for Audacity. That makes life a bit more interesting. Has anybody got a copy of that manual? I've only ever used it for editing/modifying files, not for recording, but it does seem to record only in mono, with the option of taking left or right as source.
audacity.sourceforge.net , surely ?
check your sound card isn't set to mono , so that would be mono if you record ''what you hear''
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/audacity-manual-1.2.pdf << manual
Sorry, yes, I typed it in brain-off mode.
Tom, Edit > Preferences > Audio I/O > Channels. Set to Stereo and away you go.
Strange. I don't have Edit / preferences but I do have File / Preferences - but then no Audio I/O. When I click on the little speaker icon in my XP toolbar, all the balance controls are in the centre. Oh, and I get the Audacity manual if I click Gary's link, Alan.
tom.
I've got Audacity 1.2.6. Preferences is at the bottom of the Edit list, Ctrl-P. It has tabs for Audio I/O, Quality, File Formats, Spectrograms, Directories, Interface, Keyboard, Mouse. Maybe you've got an older version, in which case, I recommend you get the latest.
And, yes, that's where I found the info, in the manual I downloaded from the link Gary gave. Where would we be without Gary?
I've got v 1.2.3 and was under the impression that later versions didn't have the 'what you hear' option included, which is why I was loath to update it.
Could be right. I can't find a 'what you hear' option in 1.2.6. Maybe the Preferences dialog obviates it.
''what you hear'' may only be available with some audio drivers , with some cards/soundchips.
That's right Gary. I've downloaded the latest 3 point something beta version as well as an old 1.2.3 version and neither have a 'what you hear' on this Realtek HD sound card. To record streaming audio you've got to fiddle about with cables connecting your ins and outs.