Open Settings in Audio Recorder – Voice Recorder and move the Mic volume slider: it runs from 0 to 200 % in steps of 5, starts at 100 %, and only changes the microphone, never the tab audio. Aim for a waveform that moves clearly when you talk but never sits pinned at the top.
Getting the level right before you record is the single cheapest quality fix there is. Too quiet and every later boost brings up hiss. Too loud and the peaks distort, and no editor can fully put them back.
Where the slider is
- Click the extension icon to open the popup.
- Open Settings.
- Check that Microphone shows the device you actually speak into. "Default microphone" follows your system default; pick a named device if you have more than one.
- Drag Mic volume. 100 % means the signal passes through unchanged. Below that it is turned down; above that it is boosted, up to double at 200 %.
Settings are locked while a recording is running, so set the level first. If a take comes out wrong, stop, adjust, and record again.
What the slider actually does
The slider is a plain gain stage inside the recorder. It multiplies whatever the microphone delivers. It does not change the hardware level in your operating system, and it does not touch tab audio. When you record with Both, the slider is how you balance your voice against the tab: lower it if you drown out the video, raise it if the tab buries you.
The recorder doesn't apply automatic gain control. Your level stays where you put it instead of pumping up and down between sentences, which is what you want for something you will listen back to.
A 30-second level check
- Choose Microphone as the source.
- Sit where you will really sit, at your normal distance from the mic.
- Press Record and say a few sentences at the loudest you expect to speak. Laugh once, too; laughs are peak makers.
- Watch the live waveform. Loud moments should reach high but leave a gap below the top.
- Stop and play the take back with headphones.
If it sounds harsh, crackly, or flat-topped on the loud parts, lower Mic volume by 15–20 % and repeat. If you need to turn your speakers way up to hear it, raise the slider in the same steps.
Typical starting points
| Setup | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Built-in laptop mic, arm's length | 100–130 % |
| Headset mic near the mouth | 80–100 % |
| USB desk mic, 15–25 cm away | 90–110 % |
| Lavalier clipped to a collar | 100–120 % |
| Quiet speaker across a meeting table | 130–170 % |
These are only places to begin; mics differ a lot. Your 30-second check overrules the table every time.
Boost or move closer?
Values above 100 % are handy, but they boost everything, including room noise and hiss. Moving the mic closer raises your voice without raising the room. Halving the distance makes a bigger difference than most people expect.
So my order is: get closer first, check the system input level second, and only then reach for 150 % or more. Very high values on a weak built-in mic usually trade a quiet recording for a noisy one.
Check the system input level too
If the waveform barely moves even at 200 %, the problem is likely upstream. Your operating system has its own microphone input level, and some USB mics and interfaces have a gain knob or a mute button. Set those to a sensible middle value, then use the extension slider for fine-tuning. A flat line can also mean the wrong device is selected or that Chrome has no microphone access; see Chrome microphone permission for that.
Interaction with other settings
- Noise suppression works on the incoming mic signal. A sensible gain keeps background noise below your voice, which helps the filter. More in noise suppression and echo cancellation explained.
- Skip silence decides when things are quiet based on level. A very high gain can lift room noise enough that the recorder never pauses. A very low gain can make it pause mid-sentence.
- Quality (Standard 64 kbps, High 128 kbps, Best 192 kbps) doesn't fix a bad level. A quiet take at 192 kbps is still a quiet take.
When the level is still wrong after recording
The extension doesn't have a volume or normalisation editor; the only edit inside it is trimming. If a take is good but too quiet, download it as WAV and raise the level in a desktop audio editor. If it is distorted, re-recording is usually faster than repairing. The walkthrough in clean up voice recordings before you share them covers both cases, and the tips for clearer voice recordings help you avoid them next time.