Does your voice sound distorted to others when you sing in voice lessons online using your Windows PC? Maybe you sound muffled or garbled, or maybe other people can’t hear you sing high notes.
Fix the problem by turning off signal processing using the steps below. This should make your voice sound clear in our ultra-low-latency audio app FarPlay, as well as in regular communication apps like Zoom or WebEx.
- Go to Start > Settings > System > Sound. In Windows 11, click More Sound Settings. In Windows 10, click Sound Control Panel.
- Go to the Recording tab. Double-click the microphone you want to use. Go to the Advanced tab.
- Make sure Enable audio enhancements or Enable sound effects is unchecked. Some PCs have an Enhancements tab with a checkbox labeled Disable all enhancements. If so, check that checkbox. Press OK twice.
These steps typically fix the problem on Windows PCs. If audio remains distorted after using the steps above, try turning off signal enhancements in settings apps from your PC’s manufacturer. For Dell and Lenovo PCs, try the suggestions below.
Additional steps for Dell PCs
Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound. Open Dell Audio. In the Main tab, make sure all the switches under Maxx Audio (bottom half of page) are set to OFF. Some Dell PCs forget your settings after you close Dell Audio. If this is the case, try leaving the Dell Audio app running to prevent the switches from flipping back to ON.
Additional steps for Lenovo PCs
Apply the settings below in Lenovo Vantage (some settings might not be available on your PC).
- Go to My Device Settings > Audio. Go to the Audio Smart settings section and make sure Automatic Audio Optimization for VoIP, Suppress Keyboard Noise, and Acoustic Echo Cancellation are OFF.
- In My Smart Settings > Advanced Settings, find the Smart noise cancelling section and set Microphone noise cancelling and Speaker noise cancelling to OFF.
Why does this problem happen?
A lot of Windows PCs try to modify microphone audio to reduce noise or echo. This signal processing is usually designed for speech. This might make sense when someone is on a voice call in a noisy café, but the signal processing often makes your voice sound muffled or garbled (even silencing high notes) and makes your PC do unnecessary processing. So when singing or playing online, turn off signal enhancements on your Windows PC.
—David