Output from phono stage too low for good digital recordings

[RothwellAudio]

There's nothing wrong with the phonostage - no need to get another.
Yes, if you want more signal into the Behringer you can use the main outputs of your Audiolab pre-amp but don't use the Audiolab for monitoring at the same time!
If anything needs upgrading I would suggest it's the Behringer.

BTW, I haven'y used Audacity for a while, but isn't there some kind of software control over the recording level?

[Arkless Electronics]

There's nothing wrong with the phonostage - no need to get another.
Yes, if you want more signal into the Behringer you can use the main outputs of your Audiolab pre-amp but don't use the Audiolab for monitoring at the same time!
If anything needs upgrading I would suggest it's the Behringer.

BTW, I haven'y used Audacity for a while, but isn't there some kind of software control over the recording level?

Precisely what I advised the OP on the phone.

As to whether to get a new phono stage well obviously the rips to hard drive can only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. The phono stage is holding it back without doubt as anyone who has compared a standard 640P with an Arkless 640P can attest.

The Behringer may or may not also be a weak link. If it is it's likely to be the analogue input section before the A2D converter that's the issue as Behringer will be using a proprietary bought in A2D chip the same as all other manufacturers... Probably from AKM.

[RothwellAudio]

Yes, I'm not saying the phonostage can't be bettered, but the OP isn't complaining that the quality isn't up to scratch, only that the level is too low.

[LateJunction]

<snip>

So what you've described in your OP actually sounds about right levels wise. Yes if you turn the signal up digitally in audacity you'll turn the noise up too, but that would also be the case for adding gain electronically at the preamp stage.

By way of example, when I record bands I'll set the gains going in to the system so that the peaks hit between -18 and -12dB FS, this is plenty of signal to work with, means I'm generally safe from clipping the input if something gets momentarily loud and leaves me headroom for summing tracks together.

Having taken an executive decision (which was to make a decision) I purchased a Focurite 2i2 USB Audio Interface (the ensuing fiasco with Focurite's dealer provides a rich store of material for possible future posts). With this device I find that I can make excellent recordings into Audacity under that security-challenged patch-deck of bloat-ware known as Windows and quite good ones under Linux, even though there appears to be no way of adjusting recording levels in either the operating system or the Application software. (Yes, both claim to be able to do so; neither can support the claim). So, relying on the gain control hardware in the Focusrite box, I find that recordings made following your level recommendations do not appear - to my ears/brain - to sound as 'effective' ( can't really find the apposite word here) as those where the recording peaks at -3 dB or so - which has been my naive way of working. And when I say 'peaking' there is, for example, only I place in a recording of a 45 minute performance of Beethoven's Op. 131 where the recording level reaches - 3dB and that is for less than a second.

[Rothchild]

Glad to hear you've got it up and running to your satisfaction

There is no way to control recording levels within the OS because the signal has already been converted by that point (so all you'd be doing is 'normalising' so we'd be back to step one).

If you're trying to compare a recording made with lower peak values to one with higher values they you need to be scrupulous about level matching the playback system (loud sounds better, experimentation has demonstrated that level differences of less that .5 of a dB can cause a listener to express a preference for the louder signal)

But, at the end of the day, if the signal isn't clipped and you're happy with it then this is somewhat academic.