Stereo Recording How?

[stereofan]

My OS is Linux 14.04
I have two microphones plugged in two different USB hubs of my Laptop.
Now, is it possible to record both channels at the same time (=stereo) with audacity?

I searched a lot of webpages, but the answers eiher refer to double-mono (=fake stereo) or were otherwise not relevant.

Does anybody know how to?
Thank you!

[steve]

I have two microphones plugged in two different USB hubs of my Laptop.
Now, is it possible to record both channels at the same time (=stereo) with audacity?

Not easily. Audacity only supports recording from one device at a time.
To record from two devices simultaneously, you would need to create a "virtual device" (also known as an "aggregate device" to take its input from the two physical devices, and then set Audacity to record from the virtual device.

A couple of ways to do this are described here:
http://www.jackaudio.org/faq/multiple_devices.html

Another way is described here, but this method is risky because if you make a mistake you could easily make a big mess of your sound system that could be very difficult to fix:
https://alsa.opensrc.org/TwoCardsAsOne

double-mono (=fake stereo)

Using a 2 input device (double mono), is not "fake" stereo. It is "stereo".
A USB device such as a Behringer UPhoria UMC202HD has two microphone inputs and allows you to record both mics simultaneously into a stereo track (lots of other makes / models available).
Using a real 2 input device has many advantages over using an aggregate device:

• Both mics share the same clock signal, so stay exactly synchronised with each other
• Much simpler to set up
• More reliable
• Lower CPU overhead
• Compatible with ALSA, Pulse , Jack, OSS ...
• ...