# Device

### From Audacity Manual

The input device is the actual physical sound device you are recording from. This is chosen at "Recording Device" in the Audio I/O tab of Preferences.

On Windows and Linux, Preferences are at the bottom of the Edit Menu. On a Mac, they in the Audacity Menu. You can also conveniently select Recording Device in the Device Toolbar, which can be enabled at View > Toolbars...

By default, Audacity uses the device currently being used by the system, (usually your inbuilt sound device), so it is often not necessary to change the input device. On Windows, this current system device can be selected as "Microsoft Sound Mapper". If you are recording from an external USB or Firewire device such as a USB turntable, select it explicitly by name as recording device after connecting it.

Back to Recording Audio.

To Getting Started.

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