[[email protected]]

I have a PBX-type phone unit, which has an auto attendant, "Thank you
for calling company ABC...."

The unit gives you the option of uploading a sound file to the system,
۬so you can have a professionally recorded welcome message.

The makers of the PBX unit say the specs for the sound file must be as
۬follows: 8 KHz, 8 bit, mono, u-law, .wav file.

I gave these specs to the recording studio, and had the welcome message
۬professionally recorded.

The .wav file we received sounded awful, scratchy and unclear when I
۬played it on my iTunes, but I was assuming that was a format issue.
۬However, when I uploaded the file to the PBX unit, it was the same.

Now we get into a "He said, he said" situation that I am hoping one of
۬you experts can help me with.

PBX company response (small company, tech support manager, admits
۬he's not a sound expert): ۬"The file has to be **recorded** at 8
KHz, 8 bit. A downsampled file ۬won't work."

Studio engineer (big-city guy, very experienced): ۬"I've recorded
phone prompts before without an issue. I don't ۬even have software
that will record at 8 KHz. The lowest I have is 16. ۬Downsampling
hasn't been an issue in the past. I've checked the ۬files and no
errors are showing."

The high-resolution files he sent me (MP3s) are fine - very clear,
۬but I can't upload them to the system (error message says "format
not ۬supported). I guess I can play them through my computer and hold
the ۬phone receiver close to the speaker, but then we're really not
۬getting what we paid for in either case.

Since I'm not a sound expert, I don't know where to turn here. Can
۬someone help?