first of all cool edit pro is really old software. I remember using that back in college 7 years ago.. The newer version of the same software is now owned by Adobe and it is called Audition. You can also use better programs than audition, like Cubase, Sonar or even Ableton Live -which in my opinion is easier to use than the others. If you are a mac user, Garageband would do you fine for what you are doing but Logic Studio is your best bet. But that is if you really are taking a plunge into creating sound. In terms of your question, you have to check your recording settings. You should generally record at 16bit and 44.1 kHz. This should give you good sound quality no matter what your input source is. Also make sure your track is set up so your input is really only taking the signal of the stream. Good luck