The issue is, this content is - as I know - the only content here for learning German step by step, but the problem is I find the audio is not very clear, and I need to focus hard to listen to what the audio says.
Your opinions or suggestions please
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I agree. The transcripts and lessons are good for reading… but most of the beginning audio lessons look to be very old with underwhelming quality. I think it is really important to have high quality audio in the early stages, so they should rerecord these. I remember finding it frustrating.
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I compare this with Assimil, you cannot even compare, I am enjoying Assimil and almost getting addicted to it! Crystal clear!
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Sorry, I was absent, and now I’m ill. So I was not able to answer before.
I’ve just checked the lessons from my beginner course “Ab jetzt lerne ich Deutsch! German now!” and the sound on my PC is fine, not to say crystal clear. It doesn’t matter if I use the uploaded file or the file that is stored of LingQ.
I’m wondering which device and which player you use. Have you tried it on other devices too? Or do you speak about other lessons.
I did some research too. Originally I’ve uploaded the MP3-files with 64 Kbps in October 2008. Than I chaned it to 96 Kbps in November 2008. As far as I remember this was the required Bitrate at that time. Now I can read in the help section “Audio files must be mp3 files saved at 64 Kbps and 11025, 22050 or 44100 Hz.”. I’m not sure if this has an influence. I’m not an expert for audio files, but maybe others can help here.
I’m not an audio engineer, but here’s what I can share:
There’s a direct relationship between bitrate (kbps) and frequency (Hz) in terms of quality.
44100 Hz will give you fairly good quality sound-- like a standard CD.
11025 Hz will give you the quality of a a telephone call from the 1970s!
Also, the higher the kbps - the higher quality of sound. However, the file size increases a lot with an increase in Kbps. When data storage was far more expensive 10-15 years ago, and the internet was much slower, I think this file size issue was a fair point to keep in mind. But today, I’m not so sure.
96 or 128 kbps is standard for most audio streaming services these days (Spotify, Amazon, Apple, etc). High-end digital audio streams around 320 kbps-- and costs extra.
I didn’t check what LingQ suggests / requires for audio upload.
Setting your recording sampling at 44100 Hz as a standard will improve your audio quality a lot.
Thanks. I know this. LingQ’s recommondations are mentioned in my text above. The main problem is that the audio is fine on my PC and my mp3 player. So I guess it has to to with the device or the audio player. Usually I use use 96 Kbps and 22050 Hz for my recordings.
Ok, now I checked what LingQ requires. The best quality setting within LingQ parameters would indeed be a) 64kbps and b) 44100 Hz.
64kbps is enough for speech. Music requires more.
44100 Hz means the audio will have the frequencies upt to 44100/2=22050 Hz. It is the human ear’s limit. But who has such rich voice with overtones at 20 kHz? We can hear such frequencies and reproduce them using musical instruments (cymbals, for example). But we cannot reproduce such high frequencies during the speech. Sopranos may sing notes at 880 Hz. Well, let’s believe somebody can speak at 2 kHz 
But even 11025 Hz may be enough for the speech because it saves all frequencies below 11025/2=5.5 kHz.
That’s why it is not seldom to see recordings of Skype conversations in 8 kHz.
For sure, we may save such 8 kHz audio in a new format with 44.1 kHz but it will not change the sound because the higher frequencies are lost.
Where is the difference in the sound quality if home recordings and radio broadcasting both are saved at 44.1 kHz with 128kbps? The difference is in equipment and post-processing.
Microphones and their preamps play the biggest role. Cheap equipment can loose the quality.
The subjective quality depends on the effects like compression, EQ, enhancement, reverberation.
The quality is not hidden in kHz or kbps. It is also in human’s experience in sound recording.
Can you give examples of lessons whose audio is not clear? I tried the first 3 lessons in Vera’s course “Ab jetzt lerne ich Deutsch! German now!” and the sound is fine.
I had a problem with recording for Lingq some years ago, not using the advised sound rate made the audio distorted, but this is not the case.
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That audio is fine. You should listen to the Hiyoko Zhongwen courses. Now THOSE are not clear.
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I just listened to the first 3 lessons myself. Sounds totally satisfactory to me with my desktop speakers and with my bluetooth speaker.
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Thank you. Can you please try “Vera’s Diary for beginners” ( German ), and tell me if you find it as clear as others, please.
Thank you. Can you please try “Vera’s Diary for beginners” ( German ), and tell me if you find it as clear as others, please.
Thank you. Can you please try “Vera’s Diary for beginners” ( German ), and tell me if you find it as clear as others, please.
Thank you. Can you please try “Vera’s Diary for beginners” ( German ), and tell me if you find it as clear as others, please.
I think usablefiber we share the same thought, so could you please try “Vera’s Diary for beginners”
( German ), and tell me if you find it as clear as others, please.
Which device are you using for listening?
I have you beat. Login - LingQ
I am using my laptop DELL, and earphone Sony.