Rega Fono A2D stuck in mono

Windows 10, Audacity 3.0.4

The A2D converter in my laptop is sub-optimum, so after a bit of research I purchased a Rega Fono Mini A2D converter. One side hooks to the turntable (with an option to feed equalized signal to a pre-amp/integrated amp/receiver) and the other end is a USB connector. It does the pesky A to D conversion.

It sounds really nice! However, after recording a few records, something was missing. Soundstage! It’s in mono! I checked a ton of settings, and everything should be stereo. The analog feed to my pre-amp is stereo, so that’s encouraging.

Next, I tried Vinyl Studio, and it receives a stereo signal, but Vinyl Studio isn’t as fully featured as Audacity.

Any idea what’s going on? Is there a resolution I’ve overlooked?

Thanks!

Audacity and Windows both have to be [u]set to stereo[/u].

They are both set to stereo.

If you’ve already paid for Vinyl Studio you can use it for recording and then edit in Audacity.

…I don’t know what’s going on, but someone else may have some suggestions. Audacity and Vinyl Studio both should be getting the same audio stream from the same drivers.

That’s my thought as well, they are both getting the same signal. At this point, it’s a mystery.

The folks at Safe and Sound who sold me the Rega got back in touch with me and suggested that I try it on a different computer.

So, I dusted off an older Lenovo laptop, let WIndows update and batteries charge while I installed Audacity on it.

Long story short, it worked. Nicely.

It seems there are known USB glitches where a device on the system can lock all the devices on the system into mono. I’m digging further and have some ideas to track down.

As you expected, it is not an Audacity problem.

You can Google “usb is stuck in mono dell xps 13 windows 10 pro” for more information.

Thanks!

It seems there are known USB glitches where a device on the system can lock all the devices on the system into mono. I’m digging further and have some ideas to track down.

Hmmm… I had “something wrong” with an audio device once, but I don’t remember the exact issue.

You didn’t have to install any drivers for the Rega interface, right? Most of these little interfaces use the standard Microsoft-supplied drivers…

Try this:

  • Right-click the Windows start icon and open the Device Manager.
  • Scroll down to Universal Serial Bus Controllers and double-click to expand the list.
  • Right-click the USB audio device and select Uninstall device.
  • Unplug the USB device and plug it in again.

If all goes well… The driver should re-install automatically and this might “clean-up” the settings.