help. recording volume problem. asio driver related.

[me_101]

so i switched from MME to ASIO right now.
and when i record, audition records the audio very loudly, it clips a lot.
it does not get lower no matter how low i make the levels in the windows recording device properties. i even turned microphone boost off.

[bouldersoundguy]

Turn down the analog input gain on your audio interface, not the digital one in Windows. You need to get the level right going in. By the time Windows level controls can affect the signal it's too late.

What interface are you using?

[me_101]

i'm using adobe audition cs6. how do i "Turn down the analog input gain"...?

[bouldersoundguy]

What audio interface hardware are you using?

If the answer is "The stock sound card my computer came with" then you need to consider getting a proper audio interface. It will have the features you need for recording that the sound card lacks, including analog input gain controls and input monitoring.

[me_101]

yes it the sound card my hp laptop came with.
so what exactly is an audio interface??o_O
and is there no way i can reduce the input volume from inside adobe audition? may be some plugin or some setting?

[bouldersoundguy]

yes it the sound card my hp laptop came with.
so what exactly is an audio interface??o_O
and is there no way i can reduce the input volume from inside adobe audition? may be some plugin or some setting?

There are several ways you might reduce the level after the signal is in the computer, but then it might be too late to prevent clipping. You'll just have a clipped signal at a lower level.

An audio interface is an audio input/output device like a sound card but with more features for recording such as gain controls that let you adjust the level of an incoming signal and some provision for listening to the input as it's happening. There's a ton of info on this forum on the subject.

[gecko zzed]

If you are using your computer's internal soundcard, you should have a control panel or something that will reduce the input level. However, depending on how it works it may not be able to do anything if the input signal is just too strong for the input circuitry.

[Bobbsy]

Okay, some basics here.

You can't turn down the input gain in Audition because, by the time the audio reaches Audition, your computer has already converted it to a digital signal and any clipping from high gain is already done.

Second, how exactly have you switched to ASIO? Not many built in sound cards come with suitable ASIO drivers. Assuming it's a Realtek or similar in your HP, it'll have MME drivers and you must be using some third party drivers. That could be your problem.

Third, how to set levels (sort of): Assuming you're on Windows Vista or 7, open your Windows audio control panel. Go to Recording Devices. Select the input you're using, probably Microphone or whatever. This'll open another window with tabs across the top--click the one labelled "Levels" and adjust the two sliders. However, be aware that, even at this point, you're adjusting the digital conversion so if things are overloaded at the input you're still out of luck.

Fourth: An Audio Interface is a proper device for recording use (as opposed to built in sound cards which are for Skype phone calls and playing back videos. There are FAQs about these in the newbie forum--but you'll probably want one with a USB output and a knob on the front to adjust input gain.

[me_101]

i downloaded asio4all and audition had an option to switch. the recording quality is great with asio also latency is gone.

i know about the control panel levels setting. and usually it works but not with asio. because asio operates only in audition.
so is no other way to reduce the input volume?

[bouldersoundguy]

There's probably an ASIO driver settings menu somewhere in Audition, but that's still too late to fix clipping at the input.

UNLESS there's some way to make ASIO turn off the mic boost. Switching mic boost off in Windows doesn't help because that's does it in the MME driver rather than the ASIO driver you made Audition use.