Playback audio speed too fast

exported audio plays faster than spoken

After recording line audio from my radio system for a couple of months, I finally had occasion to replay an audio track. I exported the track from the (n-Track) machine that records audio and opened the file in Audacity on another computer. I was surprised to find the audio ran much faster than normal spoken word – like everyone was on helium. I was not able to slow the audio to a normal speaking voice.

How do I ensure the audio I record is will play back at normal speaking rate? Is there a control in the record process that ensures the audio is not recorded at what appears to be a very fast rate? I want the audio I record to sound the same on playback.

Paul

I have now installed n-Track on my other computer. Using an exported audio file from my multi-track (n-Track) recording system, I have played back the audio file, but it’s still running too fast - like everyone is on helium. Using the ‘Adjust Playback Speed’ control, I can not get the audio file to sound normal – it’s either too fast or too slow. All I want is spoken word audio playback.

Offers of help would be appreciated.

Paul

FireComm,

what is the sampling frequency of the audio file that plays too fast? Does it match the sampling frequency you’ve sent in the n-Track’s Settings -> Preferences -> Recording settings tab?
Does the problem happen when you load a .sng file or even when you import the audio (i.e. .wav) file into a blank song?

Flavio.

Flavio

In both cases the sampling rate is 44100. This what I have set in the audio preferences and what appears when I look at the properties of the single file that I have exported to the other machine.
I just exported the *.sng file and all its related files for an entire recording session and tried to playback the song. It was exactly the same situation, the audio runs too fast and I can slow it down.

Paul

Flavio

One more thing – my standard record setup is six mono tracks. While I used the default rate of 44100, I wonder if it should be set to a lower rate?

Paul

check the bit rate, eg. 16 bit, 24 bit etc… :cool:

I have found that using the sound card to control record and playback to be much more reliable than using the computers clock. The setting is in the settings > preference .

Quote: (bax3 @ Jan. 02 2014, 8:17 PM)

I have found that using the sound card to control record and playback
to be much more reliable than using the computers clock.
The setting is in the settings > preference .

hmm another good debate,

we had one on this a few years back.....(more like a friendly discussion)

neither really is more reliable from what I gathered....

it's just best to use a single source for all the timing needs....

as the quartz in computers clocks are all different, hence they will all produce slightly different click tracks and results from one another...

but I digress.... :whistle:

Don’t are, I would argue that the sound cars are always better . . . If I knew want I was talking about.

Don’t you just love autocorrect. The first word in my previous post was Dontcare.

Quote: (FireComm @ Jan. 02 2014, 9:29 AM)

I just exported the *.sng file and all its related files for an entire recording session and tried to playback the song. It was exactly the same situation, the audio runs too fast and I can slow it down.

Flavio

I just noticed a typo in my last message.

When I copied the *.sng file and all the related files to the other machine and my second copy of n-Track, the audio runs too fast and I can NOT slow it down using the 'Adjust speed control'

So the situation remains unresolved.

Paul

what were the bit rates on the two DAWS?

the only reason I ask, is if you record at 16bit setting on one machine for example and try to play back at 24bit on another it will produce similar symptoms. (chipmunk vocals) even if the sampling rates are identical.

if memory serves me correct 2.3 default was 16 bit, later versions offered 24bit.

it was 16-bit on both machines

Quote: (FireComm @ Jan. 03 2014, 2:49 PM)

it was 16-bit on both machines

well it seems we have ruled out the obvious (bit rate, sample rate difference etc).

the odd thing is that the files also do no play back correctly in another DAW (Audacity). (or had problems in initial recording?)

the only other thing I can think of that causes this symptom is codec and operating system related.

in order to try and troubleshoot this further some information is needed.

O.S., version of Ntrack, any other pertinent computer information like soundcard, chipset, board # etc.

also if you recently upgraded operating systems it would be good to know, there was a problem with certain mother boards not being compatible with the Windows 7 drivers, users were suggested to use the Vista drivers more on that here: Playback too fast

jerm :cool:

also there are known conflicts between onboard soundcards and PCI or external cards we could explore.
:agree:

if all that fails and you are using the most current version of Ntrack it could be a bug that needs fixing. :D

I am using n-Track version 7.03 x64 build 3111 on both computers. The primary recording machine is tied to a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 board. Both computers are running Windows 7 64-bit Professional and neither machine processes Windows updates automatically – I manually screen all potential updates. Neither machine has been updated in short time that I’ve been running n-Track.
Not sure what else to tell you. The voice activated recording process works great, but regrettably the output is not usable.

if you don’t mind, could you tell us what setting is in the Scarlett MixControl?

it looks like this:



makes sure it is set to 44.1k

I found this at Focusrites sight thought it might be relevant:

Quote:

The audio stream captured from our USB 2.0 hardware is always 24-bit samples. These samples are not altered or processed in any way by the driver when recording via the ASIO driver. Windows audio control panel may say the device is in 16 bit mode, but the ASIO driver bypasses the Windows audio system, and is therefore not affected by this setting.
link

with that being known, I think it is best if you set all DAWs to 24-bit during recording and playback.

a little confusing to me was that it also said WDM drivers were 16-bit, while the USB default is 24, it sounds like it will record at 16 bit if you use the WDM driver tho…

I hope you find this information useful.
:agree:
Quote: (FireComm @ Jan. 03 2014, 1:15 PM)

Quote: (FireComm @ Jan. 02 2014, 9:29 AM)

I just exported the *.sng file and all its related files for an entire recording session and tried to playback the song. It was exactly the same situation, the audio runs too fast and I can slow it down.

Flavio

I just noticed a typo in my last message.

When I copied the *.sng file and all the related files to the other machine and my second copy of n-Track, the audio runs too fast and I can NOT slow it down using the 'Adjust speed control'

So the situation remains unresolved.

Paul

Firecomm,

it's quite strange that you can't adjust the speed of the tracks/song.
What control are you exactly using to change the speed? You can use the song speed slider usually located in the lower right of the n-Track screen, to the right of the play, rec etc. buttons.
Alternatively you can change the speed of individual tracks with the speed slider in the track properties box that appears double clicking on a waveform. This should definitely work in changing the speed, although obviously you should be able to get recordings at the correct speed without having to alter the speed afterwards.

Does the speed problem occur only when you're using the 'voice activated recording' feature or even when you record normally? Please try emailing one of the audio files that have the incorrect speed to support@ntrack.com
If the file is too big for email you can use a file sharing service such as dropbox.com or memopal.com

Flavio.

Flavio
I only record in ‘voice activated mode’ and yes I am using the ‘adjust playback speed’ slider in the bottom of the screen in an attempt to slow down the recording.
I have changed the n-Track bit rate to 24 and yes the Scarlett control panel also reads 44100.

I have just sent you a *.wav file from a recent recording session.

Paul