Smart Computing Article - Create, Record, & Listen

October 2005 • Vol.9 Issue 6 Page(s) 4-7 in print issue Add To My Personal Library It’s almost unbelievable how much we love our music. Just take a look at the popularity of music downloads and the sale of digital music players such as Apple’s iPod. PCs have long been multimedia machines and have become pretty sophisticated audio systems. But, as with all things PC, computer audio is not without its problems. We’ll tackle troublesome audio issues that PC users may encounter, from problems with software media players to computer sound cards. Problem: When I record music to my PC, the quiet parts in songs sound too quiet. Can I fix that? If you want to boost the quiet passages of your songs without blowing out your eardrums during the louder parts, consider using an audio limiter program. Limiting increases any hiss or static that's already on the recording. It may make the recording sound noisier, as though it's being played in a room full of people talking. Applied judiciously, the limiter smoothes out changes in loudness and makes older recordings sound fuller. Some CD recording programs, such as Nero 6 Ultra ($79.99 for downloaded version; www.nero.com), include limiting applications, but many others support plug-ins that adjust and balance volume, such as Volume Logic ($19.95; I want to record my LPs to CDs, but when I connect my turntable to my sound card, I can't capture the audio. How can I fix this? Even if your turntable's output cables fit the input jacks on your computer's sound card or other audio interface, you probably won't be able to connect the two directly and get satisfactory results. Although some turntables have built-in amplifiers, most consumer-level turntables put out a very low signal that needs to be amplified before you can hear it