Options to configure the use of microphone audio recording and input devices and stereo mixing on Windows PC
Any PC can be used to convert old audio cassettes to MP3, to dictate and write automatically, to record audio from a website that broadcasts music or even as a home-made karaoke machine, thanks to its audio outputs that can make the computer like a complete recording studio.
In this guide we are going to discover the recording devices of a Windows PC and the audio configuration options and then the differences and the way to use the three inputs that should be included in the standard sound cards of most computers, namely: Microphone , Line input (which is another microphone input) and Stereo Mix .
Microphone settings Windows 10 and Windows 11
To change the microphone settings on Windows 10 and Windows 11, all we have to do is press the right mouse button on the volume icon at the bottom right, click on the Open Audio Settings menu and use the drop-down menu under the section Input .
We choose the microphone to use in the drop-down menu and exit the app when the changes are complete. If the microphone does not appear in the menu settings, click on Manage audio devices, identify the disabled device, click on it and finally click on Enable to make it available; after activation the device will be visible in the drop-down menu seen a little while ago.
Enable Stereo Mix on Windows 10 and Windows 11
The Stereo Mix or Stereo Mix lets you record any sound you hear from your computer. For example, if we are watching a video on the computer, we can record audio without having to put the microphone next to the speakers, but by using the Stereo Mix function and an audio recording program on the computer.
By default the Stereo Mix is disabled ; to activate it, right-click on the volume icon at the bottom right (always on Windows 10 and Windows 11), press on the Sounds item , select the Recording tab and press the right button inside it, so as to be able to activate the Show items disabled devices and Show disconnected devices .
Among the disabled items we will also find Stereo Mix : press the right button on it and then press Enable to make it available as a virtual audio capture device , useful for recording all the sounds emitted by the PC in audio programs.
Among the audio programs that support Stereo Mix we find Audacity , one of the best programs to record Windows sounds (including sounds emitted by apps and windows) and export them to convenient MP3 files. In another article, the best free audio editors to edit music and recordings .
If we don’t find Stereo Mix among the hidden devices in Windows, we can install a third-party Stereo Mix via i VB-CABLE Driver , freely downloadable from the official website . At the end of the download we start the installation of the audio driver and restart the PC to immediately have a valid replacement for the Stereo Mix.
Microphone settings Windows 7 and Windows 8.1
If we use Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 we can the audio configuration options of the inputs in the path Control Panel> Audio> Recording Tab . You can also quickly open the recording devices tab by right-clicking on the volume icon on the desktop.
To choose the default audio source, highlight the device you want to use and click Set default . Most applications will automatically use the default device to record audio, except some special dictation software which may require a separate source instead.
However, if you activate the microphone, just speak to see the green bar light up which means that it is working.
By selecting the microphone , you can open Properties to adjust some settings.
In the General tab there are some basic information about the device and the option that allows you to disable the microphone if it is not used (which for security reasons should be disabled because some malware could activate it and “listen”).
These settings are also available for Windows 10, where however it is preferable to point to the new Settings app to adjust the audio (as seen in the dedicated chapter), leaving this menu only to activate Stereo Mix or only if we have problems recognizing the microphone in use. .
Conclusions
With the methods seen above we will be able to change microphone and stereo mix settings on any PC with Windows, by adjusting the right audio input device (essential for using Zoom, Skype or other video calling or videoconferencing apps).
With Stereo Mix we will instead have a virtual peripheral to acquire the audio of the PC and of the apps on the computer, so that we can also record the music played .
Alternatively, we can also use the mobile phone as a PC microphone . If, on the other hand, we need to dictate by voice to write in Word or other text programs, we suggest you look at how to transcribe an audio or video file as automatically written text and applications to write to the PC dictating by voice in Italian .
