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turntable playing with no sound
#42148 10/14/16 05:11 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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OS 10.6.8 imac 2009 I have a stanton T90 usb turntable which I havn't used for over a year and today I thought I would convert some LPs to digital. I played a record but there is no sound and no matter what I changed in the sound prefs, I could not find a solution. The usb cable is hooked up to the turntable and the usb in the computer. The other cable is plugged into AC in and the other end into the power bar. Also I have external speakers. itunes is playing ok. Can someone help me out. Thanks. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42149 10/14/16 07:03 PM
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  1. The correct input device name according to the Stanton T90 User's Manual is USB Audio Codec.
  2. If that does not work, the first thing to check would be to see if you have a working connection between the turntable and your computer. Look in System Report ➭ Hardware ➭ USB and see if the turntable is showing up there. You will likely have to drill down through three or four USB buses, and maybe multiple Hubs on each bus to find it and its name might not be Stanton T90 or anything similar so this could take some detective work. If you cannot find the turntable there the usual suspects would be — in order of likelihood...
    1. the USB cable between the turntable and the computer
    2. the USB port on the turntable
    3. the power supply on the turntable
    4. the USB port on your computer
  3. If the turntable does appear in System Report âž­ Hardware âž­ USB then what are the available options in System Preferences âž­ Sound âž­ Input?
  4. Do you have the Audacity software installed on your computer? Is it compatible with OS X 10.6.8? Have you checked for an update?
  5. Have you reviewed the referenced User Manual for something you might have forgotten or overlooked?


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42151 10/14/16 09:31 PM
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Thanks for your response. The turntable does not show in the system report as such but there is: USB Bus IR receiver & USB Bus USB Audio CODEC. Is the latter the turntable? The USB cable between the turntable and the computer, I changed usb ports on the computer and double checked the usb connection on the turntable. I don't know how to check if the usb port on the turntable is defective.
I assume the power to the turntable is okay because it does play a LP. I updated audacity before I tried to play the LP. I think I'm right in assuming that audacity doesn't have to be open to obtain sound. I do have the input set to USB audio CODEC and above the input level there a line which says, "The selected device has no input controls." The sound output is set to internal speakers. I'm wondering if it is something quite simple. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42153 10/14/16 10:04 PM
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USB audio Codec should be the right choice according the turntable's User's Manual and from personal experience with USB audio devices. (I have one USB headset that comes through the USB audio Codec and another that shows up as a specific named device — I am not sure what makes the difference.)

With USB audio Codec selected in System Preferences âž­ Sound âž­ Input there should be an input volume slider and an input level indicator below the list of input devices. Play a record on the turntable and slide the input volume slider to the right until you see input reflected in the input level indicator. Usually you would want the input level should peak somewhere between the mid point and maximum on the far right.

Give that a try and see if you are receiving an audio signal through the USB audio Codec or not.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42155 10/15/16 02:46 PM
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I have moved the input volume slider over to the right whilst playing a record but there is still no sound. The input line signals are moving normally. Since the signals are working, does that tell you anything? I opened audacity and the audio settings are correct. Regarding audacity, I had to use the apple menu as the one for audacity is missing. Under their procedure, item 8 says tick SOFTWARE PLAY THROUGH BOX and then okay. Because of audacity's menu being unavailable, I could not get to item 8. I don't remember having to use that before.
I seem to have run out of options. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42156 10/15/16 07:32 PM
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If the input line signals are moving normally then your turntable and the USB are all working as they should. Download the latest version of Audacity (it is freeware) and install it following these instructions…

Originally Posted By: Audacity
Installation instructions (.dmg files):

Double-click the downloaded DMG to mount it.

Do not double-click the “Audacity” folder in the DMG window. Drag the entire “Audacity” folder icon to the /Applications folder icon on the right (or to any other location of your choosing).

Eject the DMG at bottom left of Finder, then launch Audacity.app from the “Audacity” folder in /Applications or from your chosen location.

Known Issue: Security settings on OS X 10.7 or later/macOS may block Audacity being launched, due to changes made by Apple. [this should not bother you since you are running OS X 10.6 — JMB]

To permanently enable Audacity launch, right-click or control-click on the Audacity application in Finder, choose “Open”, then in the dialog box that appears, choose “Open”.


Then you can tick SOFTWARE PLAY THROUGH BOX then OKAY.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42170 10/16/16 09:52 PM
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I have installed audacity 2.1.2 and it launches okay. When I tried to drag the Audacity folder into the application folder, it wouldn't allow it so I dragged it to the desktop and then into apps. Also the audacity menu bar doe not appear on a mac because it already has a menu so I read. Where you say 'Eject the DMG at bottom left of Finder' I'm not sure what or where that is. However, this the situation right now, I can start the usb device and THEN open audacity and under Audacity...prefs...recording, where I ticked the Software Playthrough box. I then played a record (no sound) and clicked record. After about 3 minutes, I stopped the turntable and went to audacity in menu and then import and raw data and gave it a name plus aiff which appeared on my desktop as an itune.
I double clicked it and it played in itunes with sound with a bit rate of 1411kbps
So the problem is the absence of sound whilst playing a record. Then I will try and figure out Audacity again. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42188 10/17/16 03:46 PM
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In their apparent effort to be very precise the Audacity instructions actually seem to have made a simple straightforward drag and drop install unnecessarily complicated….

There are four downloads offered on the Audacity download page
  1. Audacity 2.1.2 .dmg file (includes help files)
  2. Audacity 2.1.2 .zip file no help files
  3. Audacity 2.1.1 screen reader .dmg includes help files
  4. Audacity 2.1.1 screen-reader .zip no help files
Apparently the assumption is you chose number 1 the Audacity 2.1.2 .dmg file which would have been downloaded to your download folder and depending on your settings in Safari it may have opened automatically on your desktop or you may have to double click the .dmg file to open it. In either case a /Volumes/Audacity window opens which contains a folder labeled Audacity and an icon labeled Applications with a curved arrow pointing from one to the other. I just tested on my computer running Sierra (which has much tighter security than OS X 10.6) and had no problem dragging the Audacity folder to the Applications icon in that window, which copied the Audacity folder to the /Applications folder on my boot drive. Then at the extreme bottom left of the /Volumes/Audacity window there you will see 💻 Audacity 2.1.2 > 📁. Control+Click on 💻and select Eject Audacity 2.1.2 from the context menu that appears.

I don't think you will encounter this in OS X 10.6. but in Sierra when I attempted to launch Audacity 2.1.2 I received a message that Audacity is from an unknown developer and cannot be opened. I immediately went to System Preferences âž­ Security & Privacy, clicked on the padlock icon and entered my administrative password, found the message "Audacity.app" was blocked from opening because it is not from an identified developer and clicked on Open Anyway.

Since I have no way to replicate your unique situation I can only guess at why you are not able to hear the playback as you are recording but the first place I would look is Audacity ➭ Preferences ➭ Devices ➭ Playback and see what device is selected. Does that correspond to System Preferences ➭ Sound ➭ Output? What is the output volume setting? By any chance is Mute checked (✓)?

Audacity appears to be a pretty robust app and since I installed it looking for an answer to your problem, I think I will keep it around for a while at least. Thanks for the idea.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42204 10/19/16 02:27 PM
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Thank you for your response. I'm looking at the set up procedure and step 4 says go to edit then prefs (I have to go through audacity to get there) step 5 says click AUDIO I/O tab which I cannot see anywhere. In the prefs sidebar that option doesn't exist. Maybe that could be what I need. I phoned audacity support and they said my settings are correct but I never mentioned step 5. I see that after setting up the turntable. step 2 says to download Audacity at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ I wonder what is different or is it perhaps an earlier download page. At least what I have is working.jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42205 10/19/16 03:34 PM
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The version I have is Audacity 2.1.2 and the build date (found in About Audacity ➭ Build Information) is Jan 12, 2016, and it would appear the manual is written for a Windows version of Audacity, thus the reference to Preferences in the Edit menu. The version I have conforms to the Apple standard of placing Preferences in the Audacity menu directly below About Audacity. That leads to the question of what other differences there might be that are not correctly documented for Apple versions. This probably contributes to confusion about settings and where to find what. 😡

I found two different places to configure input and output devices.
  1. Audacity ➭ Preferences ➭ devices (⌘,)
  2. Drop down menus, four rows down from the top of the Audacity window
  • There is only one option for the Interface — Core Audio.
  • The terminology seems a bit confusing but the only items appearing under "Recording Device" are audio inputs and should be your turntable
  • On the drop down menu the next item is stereo or monoaural
  • Finally the output device (I believe this should match the output device selected in System Preferences âž­ Sound âž­ Sound)


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42211 10/20/16 05:46 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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In desperation, I tried all the possible combinations of input and output for sound and I think I will just have to live with it. I havn't tried my headphones yet but I'm not too optimistic. I also looked at Audacity's manual and there doesn't seem to be a solution. Thank you for your considerable effort. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
joemikeb #42224 10/21/16 08:52 PM
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Good news at last. I posted the problem on an Audacity forum and today someone suggested that I download Linein but when I checked it out, it was for OS 10.7 and higher. Another response said to download the previous version and provided me where to download. I did and I now have sound!!! I would like to sincerely thank you for all the searching and time you have taken. So now we know. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: turntable playing with no sound
jaybass #42225 10/21/16 09:24 PM
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Jay, it is getting past time for you to upgrade. (I was looking for an emoji to represent 10.6 and I can't believe I could not find one with a long grey beard so 😜will have to do.) If the rumor mill is even approximately accurate there will be release announcements of for every Mac in Apple's lineup except the MacBook.

Glad you got your turntable up and running satisfactorily. 👍


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein

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