My recording is quieter than expected when using an audio interface

Follow these steps when:

  • You are recording with a single microphone plugged into an audio interface
  • Your Riverside recordings are consistently and noticeably quieter than expected
  • The recording is otherwise clean, no clipping or distortion

Likely causes:

The interface presents a two-channel (stereo) signal to the computer, so one channel carries the voice and the other is empty. Riverside records in mono, and the browser combines the two channels by averaging them, resulting in a quieter output (about 6 dB, half the expected level). This happens with any browser-based recorder, not only Riverside.

Suggested troubleshooting steps

Once the two channels have been combined, the original two-channel signal cannot be recovered. Post recording, you can raise the audio level in the editor, however this will increase background noise by the same amount.

To address the underlying cause of the issue, the browser has to receive either a device that presents a single channel, or two channels carrying identical audio. To achieve this, take the following steps before recording:

  1. Use the audio test to confirm the issue.
    • Speak normally for a few seconds, and look at the stereo meter. If only one of the two channels moves, go to step 2.
  2. Before your next recording, do one of the following:
    • Use a single-channel USB device like an XLR-to-USB microphone adapter, or a USB mic.
    • Send the same microphone to both USB channels at the same level. Many interfaces and mixers can do this in their own control software (for example Focusrite Control, or the routing menu of the mixer), so check the manufacturer's documentation for guidance.
      • Please note that the two channels must carry the same audio at the same level. A partial match only recovers part of the loss, and panning one channel to the centre of a stereo bus recovers only about half.
      • We recommend connecting the microphone to the first input of the interface.
  3. Check the result by using the audio test again to verify that the stereo meter shows approximately the same loudness for both channels.
  4. As an optional fallback if the level is still low after fixing the input, turn on auto volume control to normalize loudness.

If the issue persists, please contact Support.