First of all, make sure you are using the best possible quality to record from. Many services play streaming audio at 64 Kbps or lower. 128 kbps quality (CD Quality) is recommended. Rhapsody, Napster and Yahoo Unlimited all stream at 128 Kbps.


Next, some PCs have sound "enhancements" which actually decrease the quality and recognition rate. You can see what "enhancements" your sound card has by doing these steps:


  1. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel, then choose Sounds and Audio Devices.
  2. Click the Audio tab.
  3. Under Sound Playback, click Volume.
  4. From the menu, click Options, Properties, and make sure all selections are checked. Click OK.
  5. Now, you'll be looking at all the sound card outputs. If you have any that looks like sound enhancements, like "3D Depth", "Bass Boost" or something similar, click the checkbox underneath them to Mute those effects. Here's an example of "3D Depth" muted for better playback
  6. Close the Volume Control window.

Finally, check your player program and make sure no extra sound enhancements are present. All music players are different.