Audiophile advice sought

I bought a better set of headphones with a microphone to record my podcast. Now, instead of that shrill hissing noise, I can hear a plain old hissing noise that sounds like a bad tape recording from years past.

I’d greatly appreciate any tips to help me eliminate that noise. I like the new headphones. They’re this Altec Lansing set, purchased on the advice of a salesman at Best Buy. I really like the sound I can hear, but I’m getting that hissing noise when I record. Is it possibly picking up the fan from my laptop?

I’d also like to hear from people who have an audio program that they use for recording. I’d like one that will not just record my voice, but will also grab audio from anything that the computer is playing. I’ve seen some great programs that are, unfortunately, for the Mac. Anything comparable for the PC?

I really like grabbing quotes from DVDs and songs, and putting them into my podcasts. Anything that makes that easier than Audacity would be a great plus.

Oh, and this week’s podcast will be up either tonight or tomorrow, depending on whether or not anyone else was late sending theirs in. Okay, I was late, but only by a few hours.

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4 Responses to Audiophile advice sought

  1. A Steve says:

    Do you know how to use Audacity to do noise reduction? That should pull most of that hissing out if nothing else gets rid of it. Just make sure you have a few seconds of dead air (with the hissing) to use for a noise sample.

    As for recording programs, I just use the plain old sound recorder that’s come with Windows since 3.1 to record sounds that my computer is playing. Sometimes you have to mess with the settings to get it to record certain devices, but it’s always worked for me in the end.

  2. I did use Audacity to remove the noise, and it flattened my voice. I didn’t like the effect.

    I think I need to actually buy a program in order to get better results.

  3. I’m getting used to Audacity and finding it quite good but I must admit its a steep learning curve. From your work on SNN, however, you’re pretty good at it!

    Noise in the input is like to be from the sound card in your PC. I’m told (but I’m new to this myself) that an external USB connected sound input device is the way to go. When I find something I’m happy with myself I’ll tell you!

    Brian

  4. Solomon says:

    Yeah, are you using a sound card or onboard audio? That can make a difference depending on your motherboard. A nice sound card like a Soundblaster X-Fi (that also comes with lots of software) might end up being a good investment.

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