Record streaming audio using Audacity
January 16, 2008
An updated version on using Audacity is available on my current blog Nyutech. It also lists a simple hack that will allow you to overcome the problem of not having a Stereo Mix or Wave Out option. No matter what, you will be able to record streaming audio. Read the updated article.
Have you ever wished if you could save the audio that you listen to on the web? So did I. And to enable myself to capture streaming audio, I first downloaded and installed FreeMusicZilla on my system but the free streaming audio and video capturing software did not sniff any streaming audio on my Windows XP system. Then I installed Orbit Download Manager for capturing audio. Though I found Orbit very useful for downloading large files, I was still not able to capture streaming audio. So, I did uninstall FreeMusicZilla from my system but retained Orbit for enhancing my downloads by allowing me to pause and resume my downloads any later time.
Still I couldn’t capture streaming audio. But with a simple method I was able to capture streaming audio and save it as .mp3 or .wav.
I would suggest you first try Orbit Download Manager to capture streaming audio before trying my method. [I have read on the Internet about both FreeMusicZilla and Orbit that they are really good for capturing streaming audio and video. I don't know why they didn't work on my system. If you know the solution please let me know.]
If the streaming audio capturing softwares don’t work, try this out.
I used a sound recording software Audacity to record my streaming audio.
1. Download and install Audacity.
You can choose to download the installer that will install the program on your system. Alternatively, you can download a ZIP file that will allow you to run the program as an executable file without having to install it. Just unzip the file and click on the Audacity icon in the folder and the program will run. If you wish to give a try I would recommend you download the ZIP version.
2. Download LAME MP3 encoder
Download and unzip LAME MP3 encoder in Audacity plug-ins folder or just anywhere.
3. Start Audacity
Go to Edit -> Preferences and select the appropriate playback and recording device to reflect your system’s devices. Also, set the recording channels to two (stereo). Now select Wave Out Mix in the input selector. This will ensure that the audio output of your system is directly recorded.
4. Remove any noise from your Windows
Ensure that there is no other disturbance. If your Windows keeps making noises like the sounds of clicks and other system noises, that will also get recorded. To avoid these unwanted noises you need to disable sound for your Windows system that it makes at several occasions like clicks and beeps.
Go to Control Panel ->Sounds and Audio Devices. Select Sounds tab and change Sound Scheme to No Sounds. But before changing the sound scheme save your current sound scheme so that you may revert back to your sound scheme.
5. Start recording
Now start the streaming audio and click the record button of Audacity. When done Export your music as MP3. When you export your recording to MP3 for the first time it would ask you to locate LAME MP3 encoder. Just go to the place where you stored it and locate.
Now you have an alternative way of recording streaming audio and keeping it with you.
Though this guide has been written for Windows it can be easily modified to work in any OS. Just follow the basic steps by modifying it according to your OS.
A note for those facing problem in recording: Do you have the option dropdown that I have circled red in the image red? If yes, try to experiment with the options and see if something works. Select Stereo Mix or Wave Out mix, or other options available
Also, go to Edit> Prefrences> [or just press Ctrl+P]. There, in the audio I/O tab, try to set the correct recording and audio device. Again experiment. If this solves your problem do let me know by posting a comment on this page.
Good Luck.
Entry Filed under: DIY, Windows. Tags: Audacity, Recording Audio, streaming Audio.
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1. sinziana | March 1, 2008 at 10:58 am
very interesting!!
…but i don’t have this “wave out mix” little field in my audacity!
do you know why?
2. Pritam P Hans | March 1, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Hi Sinziana!
If you do not have a “waveout mix”, you must be having something called “output stereo’ or like. Just experiment with those options and also try to create a correct balance by adjusting the input volumes of speakers and microphone.
3. vicky | March 16, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I am using audacity to capture songs for mp3 format, when i record the songs however the noise of me typing is also being recorded, i have all alerts set to off but the keyboard noise is doin my head in!!
4. Pritam P Hans | March 16, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hi Vicky,
There can be two reasons why you are facing the problem.
1. You might not have turned off Windows sounds.
Please read the entire post for knowing how to turn off your Windows sound. Go to Control Panel> Sounds and Audio Settings>Sound. Choose No Sound in sound scheme.
2. The microphone might be on.
To turn off microphone go to your volume control and mute the volume of microphone.
Hope your problem is solved by this.
5. Benoit | March 27, 2008 at 12:06 am
I used to have Audacity back in 2004 and I was able to record streaming audio from the internet. I just installed Audacity 1.2.6 on a new laptop with XP using Realtek HD Soundcard. I don’t have the option to select “Wave Out Mix” or “Any” from the input selector. I don’t know if this is a newer version and they got rid of that option. I can’t find anything that will allow me to record directly from the internet
6. Pritam P Hans | March 27, 2008 at 6:13 am
Hi Benoit,
I am using the same Audacity version as yours, but I don’t have any problem on my Windows XP PC. I don’t know why it’s not working on yours. Please read the note that I have appended to the post after getting your comment.
All the best
7. Matthew | April 17, 2008 at 4:00 am
This was very helpful. Although, I have a problem. When i record anything, the volume of what i recorded is always very, very faint, almost unhearable. And i set all teh volume controls I could see to full blast, and it still is very faint. Help?
8. Matthew | April 17, 2008 at 4:13 am
Oh, ok, I got it to play loud enough, but now, when i play it back, it is all fuzzy and static filled. How do i get it to play back clear??
9. lugano | April 19, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Hi Pritam
I figured out how to record from internet/pc etc using Audacity but somehow I am no longer able to.
I have set the Edit – preferences to 2-Stereo (which is definitely correct) and I have also set my my volume so I have the ‘Record’ controls as selected. When I am on either stereo or mono, I get the recording but there is an echo/feedback really loud sound that follows.
I have tried just about everything to adjust this but to no avail. Can you help me?
10. Daid | April 23, 2008 at 7:30 pm
The “record output” functionality is provided by the soundcard driver, so it depends on your soundcard.
11. guest2008 | May 2, 2008 at 11:10 am
thanks very much audacity works for me, but i dont think there’s a way to split files. maybe in future releases
12. audrey | May 3, 2008 at 8:15 am
um yeah… i only seem to have “stereo mix, and microphone” as options.. no “wave out mix”
anyone know why?
13. sonbarbun | June 4, 2008 at 2:34 am
the latest laptop manufacturers disabeled stereo or waveout mixer feature for some reason. if anybody using audacity can not find any mixer (like me) this may be because of the laptop. now i am trying to find a method to enable this feature.
14. Joe | July 12, 2008 at 6:50 am
For anyone without the “Wave Out Mix” option, the option you should choose instead is “Stereo Mix”, it is the same thing (from my understanding).
15. Aerii | August 9, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Umm. The box that should say “Wave Out Mix” is disabled for some reason.
16. tony wilde | August 22, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Thanks for this info. However, Audacity won’t ‘give’ me the option ‘Wave Out Mix’ or ‘Stereo Mix’. This seems to be a common problem, judging from the comments above. I use Windows XP at work and Vista at home. Has anyone found a solution, yet, please?
Thanks,
Tony
17. MF | August 23, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Mine wasn’t working for a bit. I had the Stereo Mix option but it wasn’t recording anything. Just a flat line. Went to Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Audio > Sound Recording > Volume button > Stereo Mix > Select > Maxed the Volume > Now I’m golden. Happy recording
18. Robbey | August 28, 2008 at 12:12 pm
^^ yeah its the same for me i cant choose anything its just blank and grey
19. Oscar DeGrouch | September 5, 2008 at 12:12 am
What a great program this is! I had some trouble at first, as I was getting a funny ‘echo’ effect while it was recording, but then went into edit>preferences and unchecked the box that said “Software playthrough” (duh).
Works like a charm now!
20. Bellie Jayaprakash | September 13, 2008 at 7:55 am
Very Good. It helped me
21. Richard | October 10, 2008 at 6:02 am
The only device audio recording options i have are
Microsoft Sound Mapper – Input
Realtech HD Audio – Input
Realtech HD Digital – Input
that means i’m screwed for this method right?
22. Izzy | October 15, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Hello! I’m about to use Audacity to record on of my buddy’s band’s concerts. I have permission to use their soundboard, but I’m not sure what settings and adapters I’m going to need. Please help!
23. almost50 | October 15, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I’m having similar problems to above. I have headphones with a microphone. Audacity records what’s coming into my earphones but also picks up everything through the microphone. When I turn the microphone input levels down it no longer records what’s coming in on the earphones. I also tried to turn the mike down through the computer’s control panel but the same thing happened. Any ideas on what I can do? Thanks.
24. Lance | October 22, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Worked like a charm — thanks.
I just used the Stereo Mix setting, as it was all I had.
Make sure you balance the input and volume settings.
Cheers, Lance
25. Damo | October 27, 2008 at 12:32 am
Hi folks
try edit>preferences>audio i/o then check “rear output” in playback device and “rear input” in recording device. Ensure “2(stereo) is checked in channels and check “play other tracks while recording new ones”.
Worked for me….good luck.
26. Lara | November 13, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Thank you so much for this tutorial!
I’ve downloaded Audacity and LAME MP3 (extracted this and pasted it into my computer system file).
When I open Audacity the scroll box where you would select “Wave Out Mix” is dimmed. How do I make this box accessible? I apologize if this question sounds so simple.
27. d | November 23, 2008 at 12:42 am
Possible Windows Vista Solution:
My audacity has the option “Microsoft Sound Mapper – Input” as one of the options. In Windows Vista, I had to set it to that.
In order for the Sound Mapper to recognize output, you must enable it in your sound preferences. Right-click the sound icon next to the clock in your notification area (bottom-right of the screen by default), and select “Recording Devices.” Right-click the listbox (the white box that lists your audio devices) and check the option labeled “Show Disabled Devices.” Something similar to what was mentioned in the tutorial should appear (In my case, with Realtek HD Audio, “Stereo Mix” had to be enabled). Right click on the applicable option and select “Enable.”
Be sure to disable/mute your microphone while doing this, and turn off system sounds (or mute them in the options menu for stereo mix if applicable). Hope this helps.
28. yaap | November 24, 2008 at 3:06 am
I googled a lot and finally figured it out.
It seems that this problem is caused by the fact that Vista can only allow one microphone. So in order to record the computer sound directly(not from the microphone), you need to do the following:
1.control panel->sound->recording
2.right click->show disabled devices
3.right click on “Microphone”-> disable
4.right click on “WaveOut Mix”->enable
Have fun~ (Don’t forget to change it back when you using skype~)
29. Andrew Knowles | December 13, 2008 at 10:52 am
Hi. For those having trouble with the drop box being disabled there is a simple soloution.
Control Pannel > Sound and Audio Devices
Click the Advanced button to open up the master volume.
Options > Properties > Select input from the drop box and the master volume sliders will change. Un-mute Stero Mix.
Audacity should now be able to record the streaming music. Or it did for me at least.
Hope this helps
30. Jape | January 18, 2009 at 7:16 pm
27: Thank you so much!!!
31. Julie Duell | January 22, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Hi – I’m a new kid on the block, wanting to add sound to animated artwork. Trying to find out if Audacity is suitable for exporting sound stream recorded through a microphone into Adobe Photoshop Illustrator program or Flash Animation program. Anyone know please?
32. Joe | February 4, 2009 at 2:25 am
Im trying to record the streaming audio but my computer doesnt allow me to access the dropdown menu by the audio mixer. its just gray and un-clickable. anyone help me?
33. Ray | February 12, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Anyone know how to use Audacity with an imac. I’m trying to record streaming audio, but it will only record in mono. The only available input device is “default input source”. can anyone help?
34. Bob | March 4, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Thanks to the article and the comments, I got it working too! (with a Realtek
soundcard). Like others here, I had to “Enable” Stereo Mix and “Disable” Microphone.
I still nothing available in the pull-down menu, but it’s recording anyway. Go figure.
I also had to right-click the meters (above the microphone icon on my version) and select “Monitor Input” to verify that I was getting a signal.
(I was only getting Mono at first: went to Edit > Preferences > Recording > Channels> changed it to “2 (stereo)” )
35. Bm | March 15, 2009 at 5:14 am
GOD BLESS U!
Perfect instructions, excellent quality recording and i must say that for the first time in….ever!…..has any internet instruction for “how to” has actually worked!!!
Thanks a billion
36. Kenneth Eaton | March 24, 2009 at 8:55 am
In Preferences- recording device- I have nothing in the pull down menu. In Playnack device I do items and selected Microsoft Sound Mapper selected as a pull down. I have vista with relatek. What do I do next? I’m trying to record streaming audio.
Ken
37. Christopher Myers | April 19, 2009 at 6:25 am
Thanks for the write up! Clean and has the right info! WOOOT
38. Bridget | April 21, 2009 at 10:49 pm
If anyone is still having trouble recording using Vista, go to control panel>Sounds>right click and select “Show Disabled Devices”>enable Stero Mix. Then go to Audacity>Edit>Preferences>Audio I/O>Playback Select “Speakers (Realtek High Definition)>Recording Selcted “Stereo Mix (Realtek High Definition). Then start recording the streaming audio. Hope ths helps! (the drop down menu for “wave out” does not enable, but you will still be able to record audio).
39. SNikhil: Try this | April 28, 2009 at 6:57 pm
If you did’t find the Mixer or Wave out or Stereo drop down bar, then you have installed “the Beta version of Audacity 1.3″.
Download the “Stable Version Audicity 1.2″ from “http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows” which will definately have Mixer drop down bar.
40. Alex | May 31, 2009 at 8:05 pm
tried everything up here, unmuted stereo mix in windows, so now it is recording, but i cannot record without the blur noise..
i also don’t have the dropbox and in preferences i only get the:
Microsoft Sound Mapper – Input
Realtech HD Audio – Input
Realtech HD Digital – Input
i cannot find a place to “show disabled devices” and disable my microphone, even though i do not know if i have a mic, but is suspect my BenQ screen has one. i use a desktop computer, but on my laptop it works fine though.. what could be the problem?
41. B kimmerle | June 4, 2009 at 12:06 am
I am having trouble naming tracks every time I type a letter audacity perfoms am operation. Example I type 1 and it plays a one second selection . This is making it impossible to name any recordings. HELP