I’m trying to record 45RPM vinyl to a Win 11 laptop using Audacity 3.71… I’ve tried the USB connection and RCA to 1/8 inch jack ( to the mic input), but all I’m able to get is gibberish … I’ve tried the different audio input settings but nothing seems to work…
I thought it might be the output gain on the turntable, but that’s not it…
Any help is appreciated!
The mic input is “just wrong” (although you should get sound).
A line-input (blue on a regular soundcard) is OK for line-level output, or with a headphone output.
The USB connection should work.
Are you able to select the USB device as your Recording Device?
What are the symptoms with USB? Gibberish/distorted sound? No sound/silent recording? Error message?
Does the turntable work with your stereo? If you don’t have an appropriate stereo your TV may have analog RCA inputs that you can try. That experiment may not be necessary, and if it works it doesn’t prove that the USB output is working but if the analog doesn’t work the digital won’t work.
P.S.
Please give us the model number of the turntable and a link to the specs or user manual or whatever you can find.
If the turntable has an USB-out connector, you should be able to directly record by using a standard USB cable.
If the turntable does not have a USB-out connector, I recommend that you use the line-out of your amplifier and a suitable “USB external soundcard”. Some people here recommend a "Behringer UCA 202"m but there are others which should also work. I use here a “Griffin iMic”, which is really old and no longer on the market.
The RCA connectors on the turntable probably are “switchable” - between “with” and “without” phono pre-amp - to adjust what is delivered to your amplifier. Read the turntable’s manual or your amplifier’s manual to better understand what I want to say.
Make sure that the “Windows enhancements” are switched off. This is probably the most encountered problem when you use Audacity.
It appears the enhanced audio setting was the culprit!! Thank you!