“I have recorded some tracks in Audacity using the project sample rate of 44100Hz. I also imported a track from a portable device at 16000Hz. All tracks sound fine when played simultaneously. However, when I want to insert an audio into the 16000Hz file, it is distored. I have 2 questions:
1. Is there a way to integrate the two files into 1 track; and
2. Will I have a problem exporting mixed sample rates to CD?”
Mixing sample rates in an audio project can cause all sorts of problems with your final output. There is an easy fix to your problem, which is to simply resample one of the audio files so that it matches the other files.
For most versions of Audacity, the easiest thing to do would be to resample the 16000hz track to 44100Hz and save it at the new sample rate. You can find the option to resample your audio file in the Tracks > Resample menu option
Once you’ve saved the file at a new sample rate, you can work with the track as part of the rest of your 44100Hz project. This same approach works for other sample rates as well.
If you do the steps above to resample your audio file, you won’t have a problem outputting your project for Spotify, Bandcamp, CD, MP3 or any other format. Without resampling, you will very likely get either an error or a section of audio that sounds bad when you try to use mixed sample rates in the same file project.
Note: Older versions of Audacity, require a slightly more convoluted steps to match sample rates.
