I installed Audacity 2.1.0 from slackbuilds. When I record a sound stream, there is an echo-like quality to the recording. I have changed the recording device setting in Audacity between HDA Intel PCH: ALC3241 Analog (hw:1,0) and default to no avail. I have looked in AlsaMixer, I thought maybe it's a mic issue, but I am not sure what it could be exactly. Does anyone have any hints on what to check or change?

In AlsaMixer, I have the following:
Card: HDA Intel PCH
Chip: Realtek ALC3241

/proc/asound/pcm:
00-03: HDMI 0 : HDMI 0 : playback 1
01-00: ALC3241 Analog : ALC3241 Analog : playback 1 : capture 1

The levels for the different options can be seen in the attached image. I made a screenprint for all options and one for just capture options.

Attached Thumbnails

   

if you're recording from the mic while you're at the same time reproducing from the speakers most probably sound coming out from the speakers gets in the mic again: try plugging in a pair of head/earphones and see if, bypassing the speakers, the situation changes.

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It seems that it is only recording from the mic. I plugged in headphones, played some sound on the computer, pressed record on Audacity, and there was a soft hiss on the recording. None of the sound from the computer. I tried recording again, leaving the headphones plugged in, and just spoke and my words were the recorded sounds. So, it seems that it's just recording off the the computer's mic and not internally. I don't know which setting needs to be changed to make it record from internal sound source.

I think there's some confusion, let me try to clear it.
the issue that you have reported in the first post ("echo during recording") is, most probably, because you are, at the same time recording from a microphone (internal or external is the same)/playing something and hearing audio from the speaker: doing this, the sounds that you record get in through the microphone (or via playback), are reproduced by the speaker and they get in through the microphone again, creating the "echo".
if you want to avoid this you have to eliminate the speaker from the equation, that's why plugging a pair of head/earphones in the head/earphones jack slot (not the mic one) might help avoiding the echo, because the sound produced by the computer won't loop.

BTW, if you are trying to record computer's playback you might be better off using ffmpeg for the task

https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/..._on_linux.html

https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Capture/Desktop
https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Capture/ALSA

With the single exception of speech, I never record directly from a microphone into my PC. I want more control and higher quality than direct mic-to-PC generally affords but it also avoids any sort of feedback loop like you may be experiencing, so I always use a hardware mixer for microphones where I can control I/O levels and EQ, sometimes some compression. I do this even though I have a semi-pro sound card that even has balanced line inputs (3 connections per mic instead of 2) because experience shows I get better quality this way.

However I also use Jack Connection Kit for various reasons and you might find it easier as well as more effective than Pulseaudio for redirection so that playback is limited to headphones while you are recording. Unless you have some delay plugin feedback from output to your microphone in a sound-on-sound type of recording is by far the most likely reason for your echo.

Linux audio recording has advanced slowly but steadily and even with PulseAudio can directly compete with Windows and Max with even a few advantages despite ASIO being all but Windows-only. Keep at it and you will be happily rewarded.

Sorry if I'm causing confusion. I guess I'm not using the right terminology. I know I said "internal sound source", but that's because I don't really know what to say. Say I'm watching something on Vimeo and I want to record the audio as the video plays. I don't want to record from the speakers into the microphone, I want Audacity to capture the audio as it feeds. I don't know exactly how to refer to that, but that's what I can't figure out to record. It seems I can only record with the microphone and I don't know what setting needs to be changed to capture audio as it feeds instead of recording with the microphone.

Look at this and see if this helps answer your questions

--- Direct Capture Recording ---