Audio Recorder for Free 14.8.2.6

Its name says it all - this tool allows you to record any sound passing through your sound card, whether it comes from an online video, Internet radio station, media player, your microphone or any external source like a connected stereo. You can select the recording audio quality and set hotkeys to start and stop the recording in the blink of an eye.

The program offers a compact user interface which is composed of two panels. The bottom one can be switched between the "File List" mode, which shows all your recorded audio files plus any other one you manually add to the list, and the "Mixer" mode, which allows you to select the recording mixer and device, and adjust the volume level and balance. This panel can be hidden and restored at any moment, as well. The top panel, on the other hand, allows you to start, pause, and stop the recording, and graphs the left and right audio channels through a visual animation.

Before you start recording sounds with this tool, you will probably want to launch the "Settings" window to adjust all the available parameters according to your needs. You can set the output format and its internal parameters (MP3, Ogg, WMA, and WAV supported), the start/stop recording hotkeys (by default, F2 and F3 keys respectively) and the time in milliseconds to automatically start/stop the recording when silence is detected, among other parameters. In addition, you can schedule the audio recording task by defining the frequency (once, daily or weekly), and the start and end times.

In a nutshell, despite its apparently simple and small user interface, Audio Recorder for Free offers you a very good set of tools and parameters to help you achieve perfect audio recordings that are in keeping with your needs. The program also installs a complementary tool called "Cool Record Edit Pro", a full-featured audio editor for your recorded or preexisting audio files. However, this is a paid tool that will only allow you to save your work after it is registered.