Hello. New to platform. I have really old laptops and trying to record records to audacity. I hooked my old stereo to the microphone plug on my PC. I understand that this is MONO only but not a big deal.
The problem is that the signal strength from the stereo is too strong and the music is way over modulated. Looking at the graph it is solid blue when making a recording.
I change the input level in audacity but it just records quieter but still way over modulated so it sounds terrible. I tried numerous functions at random to fix this but I cannot get it to work right.
2- is there a cheap piece of hardware I could add to record i stereo? There are no stereo jacks o nthe computer just USB.
A line level signal is about 100 times stronger than a microphone signal. (A headphone output is also compatible with a line-input.)
The Behringer UCA202 is a popular and relatively inexpensive audio interface with line inputs. It’s lacking a recording volume control so it can be overloaded and clipped (distorted) but that’s not a common complaint.
You can find some cheaper similar products but make sure it has line inputs. Sometimes they look like a simple cable with analog on one end and USB on the other but there is a chip built-in to the USB connector… Usually “half a soundcard” for recording only.
There are lots of higher-end interfaces with switchable line and “pro” microphone inputs. I have the ART USB Phono Plus which has a phono input (with a phono preamp) and line inputs. It costs about $100 USD.
DON’T buy a regular little “USB soundcard”. They are like laptops with only mic-in and headphone-out.
To add to what DVDdoug said, there are actually three very similar Behringer USB interfaces - UCA202, UCA222 and the UFO202. If you think at some time in the future you might want to record directly from a turntable, get the UFO 202 because it has a built-in phono pre-amp. Otherwise pick the one that you find the best deal on.
Mark B
I bought a Manayo PM5 phono preamp for $59, from Amazon. It has gain and volume controls, headphone jack and On/Off switch, ground, RCA stereo in/out . It is solid and works nicely. You can probably get one from AliExpress for far less. Even with a good preamp, you will get a lot of noise; but the noise reduction feature in Audacity will clean it up.