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If the microphone input level is too low, HyperWhisper can miss words or make muffled transcriptions. This page shows how to check and adjust the system microphone volume. It also describes each option in Settings → Sound.

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Video Guide

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Check and Adjust the System Microphone Volume

The system microphone slider controls the hardware capture level. HyperWhisper reads the audio from the device at the level that the system supplies. If the slider is low, every transcription provider gets quieter audio.
1

Open Sound settings

Go to System Settings → Sound → Input.
2

Select your microphone

Select the device that you use for recording. The Input volume slider is below the device list. This slider controls the capture level.
3

Set the input volume

Move the slider to the right. Then speak at your usual dictation volume. The Input level meter must move to the middle of the scale or higher. If the meter moves only a little, move the slider further to the right.

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Sound Settings

To set the audio behavior during recording, open Settings → Sound in HyperWhisper.

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Sound Effects

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Media Control While Recording

This setting controls what HyperWhisper does with other audio when you start recording.

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Microphone

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Auto-Increase Microphone Volume

If this setting is on, HyperWhisper increases the microphone input to 90% when recording starts. HyperWhisper restores the original level when recording stops.
  • On macOS, the increase applies to the system default device and to a specific device that you select in HyperWhisper. If the device does not give software control of the volume, HyperWhisper does not change the level. HyperWhisper always restores the original volume.
  • On Windows, the increase applies only if the current capture volume is less than 50%. If the microphone is at 50% or higher, HyperWhisper does not change the level.
If you frequently forget to set the microphone level before you record, this setting helps. It does not replace a correct input level. If your device does not support software volume control, this setting has no effect.

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Keep Microphone Warm

HyperWhisper keeps a quiet idle audio session open between recordings. The microphone is then ready at the moment you use push-to-talk. This removes the short startup delay, which is most noticeable with Bluetooth microphones.
While Keep microphone warm is on, macOS shows the orange microphone indicator in the menu bar continuously, also when you do not record. Bluetooth headsets can stay in the lower-quality call audio profile instead of stereo mode. If these effects are a problem for you, you can turn this setting off.

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Microphone Selection

To change the input device that HyperWhisper records from, see Select a Microphone or Audio Input Device.

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Voice Activity Detection (VAD)

If Remove silence before transcription is on, HyperWhisper examines the audio clip after you stop recording. It uses an AI voice-detection model (Silero VAD) to remove the silence at the start and at the end. HyperWhisper then sends the shorter clip to the transcription provider.Reasons to turn it on:
  • It sends less audio to cloud providers, which can lower API costs.
  • It can make transcription faster, most of all for short clips with long pauses at the start or the end.
  • It can improve accuracy, because it removes the segments that contain only noise.
Reasons to keep it off:
  • If your recordings always start and end with speech, VAD adds a processing step with no benefit.