[Asterisk-Users] Maximizing audio quality

[El Flynn]

Wolfgang Borgon wrote:
> A RAW file I created after converting from MP3 and WAV,  sounded raspy.   
 > Does anyone have any tips for creating the  best quality voice recordings?
>   

Generally you'd use a good-quality microphone for your recordings. The adage 
"Garbage in = garbage out" couldn't be more true in this instance. If you're 
looking for studio-quality recordings, use studio-quality equipment. Those $5 
mics won't be satisfactory :)

Then there's issues of sibilance, which isn't that apparent when you're 
recording at a higher rate, but is really pronounced when you downsample to 8k 
for the GSM files. The "raspiness" you encountered was probably sibilance, where 
words that have the "ess" sound in them are boosted due to the position of the 
microphone relative to the person being recorded.

If you're going the budget route, at least get a decent quality sound card to 
record with. Another important factor to consider is your recording location -- 
try and record in as quiet a place as you can find.

Some audio processing software (Goldwave, Audacity et al) have filters that can 
knock out background noise, alter volume, apply equalization etc. You can use 
these effects to enhance the recording. But again, if your original recording 
already sounds bad there's not much you can do to make it sound nice.

Cheers,
Flynn