I am trying to record some of my rare vinyl to mp3. And then transfer to my phone so that I can play it through my bluetooth speaker.
I am using a windows 7 laptop but I also get the same problem with a Windows 10 laptop. Bascially when I export to mp3 the file is recognizable but barely audible. When I export to WAV, the file is audible. However, when I try to move it to my phone, it asks me if I want to convert the file. If I convert or just copy the file is unrecognizable on my phone. Converting to OGG is unrecognizable as well.
So I tried converting the WAV file to Mp3. I was encouraged as when I did this, it sounded good on my laptop. However, when I copied it to my phone, it was again barely audible.
Does anyone have any advice on how to make the mp3 files at a normal volume? If so, I would appreciate it.
Mike Beahan
Bascially when I export to mp3 the file is recognizable but barely audible.
I wonder if you have a “phase problem” where the left & right channels are canceled-out in mono…
Is the MP3 OK on your computer?
If it’s OK on the computer (in stereo) but barely audible on the phone (on mono) try exporting in mono. There is a little drop-down arrow to the left of the waveform. Click that and select Split Stereo to Mono. Export that (to WAV or MP3) and if it comes-out super-quiet your left & right channels are out-of-phase. Then, we can try to diagnose how that happened…
This is a short (39 second) stereo sound test I made a while ago. It’s in four segments. Left, Right, Mono, and intentionally damaged (out of phase).
https://www.kozco.com/tech/LRMonoPhase4.mp3
On a normal stereo system, you can hear them all in good volume, but the last one may sound a little strange like it’s “deep” or coming from behind you.
On a normal mono-mix system (not stereo), the fourth segment will vanish. That might happen if you’re listening on your phone speaker.
If the third segment vanishes but not the fourth, then you may have a damaged sound system.
So that’s the diagnostic for your listening system.
Koz
I tried exporting with Joint Stereo, Stereo, and Mono. With Mono, the volume is low on the computer. With Joint Stereo and Stereo, volume is ok on laptop, but when I transfer to phone (Galaxy S7 active), volume is barely audible. Other mp3 files I transfer to the ohone play fine, but for some reason the mp3 files that I make with Audacity do not have the proper volume on my phone.
Mike Beahan
Please tell us about your vinyl recording setup. How are you connected to the computer?
I have an AT-USB-LP120 turntable. Itis hooked up to a laptop via a cord from the back of the turntable to a USB port on the laptop.
Well… I’m pretty sure think there’s something wrong with your turntable. Either the phono cartridge is wired wrong* (the connections in/under the headshell) or it’s wired wrong internally.
There is a work-around if one channel is inverted:
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Click that little drop-down arrow to the left of the waveform and select “Split Stereo Track”. That allows you to edit/process the left & right channels independently.
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Select all of the audio from one channel (it doesn’t matter which one).
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Click Effect → Invert.
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As a quick-check, export that as mono. If you get a normal full-volume mono file that proves one side is inverted, you’ve got a fix and you can export again in stereo.
If that’s the issue, you can decide if you want to live with it and fix everything in software or replace/repair the turntable. But, if you keep it as-is, and you ever use the turntable “live” with your stereo system the stereo “image” will be fouled-up (or “enhanced” 
) and the out-of-phase bass will be attenuated/canceled.
…From what I’ve read, the AT-USB-LP120 is one of the better USB turntables so it’s probably worth getting repaired or replacing with the same model.
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- Usually there are 4 tiny push-on connectors so that be easily corrected but there are multiple ways to get it wrong and the color codes/wire colors could be wrong, so it’s not necessarily THAT easy.
That worked. Thanks.
I don’t really understand it. Does that mean my turntable is not configured correctly?
Mike Beahan
Does that mean my turntable is not configured correctly?
Yes, it’s either it’s built/assembled wrong or the phono cartridge is built wrong.
If you look under the headshell (where the “needle” is) you’ll probably see 4 colored wires. (I believe the headhsell is removable.) The cartridge might have 4 matching little colored dots (one for each connection). If you see a mismatch you should be able to fix it by moving the connections with a pair of needle-nose plyers, or maybe with tweezers (or maybe with your fingers if you remove the cartridge from the headhsell).
…Those colors could match and there could still be a wiring mix-up somewhere else.
[u]Here[/u] is some information about the color codes & marking and hopefully it matches what you have…
If the colors “look right” you can try switching the connections to one of the channels to reverse the polarity of one channel (and if it doesn’t work you can always put it back). For example swap the left channel wires by connecting the white wire to “LG” and the blue wire to “L+”. Again, it shouldn’t matter which channel you reverse because the idea is to get the left & right channels back in phase.