mjhjmtu

I have a C-Media USB soundcard installed on my Raspberry Pi: Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0d8c:0008 C-Media Electronics, Inc.. It is a USB cable with an XLR end on the other side, to which I have an XLR Microphone (a Sennheiser MD 427 if anyone is interested) connected:

Connecting it to my Mac I can turn up the recording volume (it says "settings for selected device" and "input volume" in german)

and I get a fairly ok recording from it (it's actually a stereo recording, but this shows the volume level):

Now, the same under Linux looks quite differently. The device is recognized ok, snd_usb_audio is loaded and alsamixer shows the new recording device and lets me turn up the "recording volume" all the way:

Yet, the volume of what I can record using # AUDIODEV=hw:1 rec tmp.wav is abysmal at best:

Now, is there a way to change the kernel module settings so that I can "crank the recording volume up" any more then what I am presented with? Or maybe any other settings I have forgotten about?

I can "soft-up" the recording using # AUDIODEV=hw:1 rec tmp.wav gain 20, but that also increases the noise and it is still below what the Mac records.

Before you ask:

# arecord -L
null
 Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default:CARD=Device
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=Device
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Default Audio Device
front:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Front speakers
surround21:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
dmix:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Hardware device with all software conversions
#

# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0d8c:0008 C-Media Electronics, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp. SMSC9512/9514 Fast Ethernet Adapter
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9514 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
#

# arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 1: Device [C-Media USB Audio Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
 Subdevices: 1/1
 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
#

# amixer -c 1 scontrols
Simple mixer control 'PCM',0
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
Simple mixer control 'Auto Gain Control',0
#

# uname -ra
Linux xxx 4.4.16+ #899 Thu Jul 28 12:36:19 BST 2016 armv6l GNU/Linux
#

# aplay -l -L
null
 Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default:CARD=ALSA
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=ALSA
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Default Audio Device
dmix:CARD=ALSA,DEV=0
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=ALSA,DEV=1
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 IEC958/HDMI
 Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=ALSA,DEV=0
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Direct sample snooping device
dsnoop:CARD=ALSA,DEV=1
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 IEC958/HDMI
 Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=ALSA,DEV=0
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=ALSA,DEV=1
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 IEC958/HDMI
 Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=ALSA,DEV=0
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 ALSA
 Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=ALSA,DEV=1
 bcm2835 ALSA, bcm2835 IEC958/HDMI
 Hardware device with all software conversions
default:CARD=Device
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=Device
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Default Audio Device
front:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Front speakers
surround21:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
dmix:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct sample mixing device
dsnoop:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct sample snooping device
hw:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=Device,DEV=0
 C-Media USB Audio Device, USB Audio
 Hardware device with all software conversions
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: ALSA [bcm2835 ALSA], device 0: bcm2835 ALSA [bcm2835 ALSA]
 Subdevices: 8/8
 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
 Subdevice #1: subdevice #1
 Subdevice #2: subdevice #2
 Subdevice #3: subdevice #3
 Subdevice #4: subdevice #4
 Subdevice #5: subdevice #5
 Subdevice #6: subdevice #6
 Subdevice #7: subdevice #7
card 0: ALSA [bcm2835 ALSA], device 1: bcm2835 ALSA [bcm2835 IEC958/HDMI]
 Subdevices: 1/1
 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: Device [C-Media USB Audio Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
 Subdevices: 1/1
 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
#

# lsusb -v -d 0d8c:0008

Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0d8c:0008 C-Media Electronics, Inc.
Device Descriptor:
 bLength 18
 bDescriptorType 1
 bcdUSB 1.10
 bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
 bDeviceSubClass 0
 bDeviceProtocol 0
 bMaxPacketSize0 64
 idVendor 0x0d8c C-Media Electronics, Inc.
 idProduct 0x0008
 bcdDevice 1.00
 iManufacturer 0
 iProduct 1 C-Media USB Audio Device
 iSerial 0
 bNumConfigurations 1
 Configuration Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 2
 wTotalLength 224
 bNumInterfaces 4
 bConfigurationValue 1
 iConfiguration 0
 bmAttributes 0xa0
 (Bus Powered)
 Remote Wakeup
 MaxPower 100mA
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 0
 bAlternateSetting 0
 bNumEndpoints 0
 bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
 bInterfaceSubClass 1 Control Device
 bInterfaceProtocol 0
 iInterface 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 10
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 1 (HEADER)
 bcdADC 1.00
 wTotalLength 71
 bInCollection 2
 baInterfaceNr( 0) 1
 baInterfaceNr( 1) 2
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 12
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
 bTerminalID 1
 wTerminalType 0x0101 USB Streaming
 bAssocTerminal 0
 bNrChannels 2
 wChannelConfig 0x0003
 Left Front (L)
 Right Front (R)
 iChannelNames 0
 iTerminal 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 12
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
 bTerminalID 2
 wTerminalType 0x0201 Microphone
 bAssocTerminal 0
 bNrChannels 1
 wChannelConfig 0x0001
 Left Front (L)
 iChannelNames 0
 iTerminal 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
 bTerminalID 6
 wTerminalType 0x0301 Speaker
 bAssocTerminal 0
 bSourceID 9
 iTerminal 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
 bTerminalID 7
 wTerminalType 0x0101 USB Streaming
 bAssocTerminal 0
 bSourceID 10
 iTerminal 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 10
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 6 (FEATURE_UNIT)
 bUnitID 9
 bSourceID 1
 bControlSize 1
 bmaControls( 0) 0x01
 Mute Control
 bmaControls( 1) 0x02
 Volume Control
 bmaControls( 2) 0x02
 Volume Control
 iFeature 0
 AudioControl Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 6 (FEATURE_UNIT)
 bUnitID 10
 bSourceID 2
 bControlSize 1
 bmaControls( 0) 0x43
 Mute Control
 Volume Control
 Automatic Gain Control
 bmaControls( 1) 0x00
 iFeature 0
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 1
 bAlternateSetting 0
 bNumEndpoints 0
 bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
 bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
 bInterfaceProtocol 0
 iInterface 0
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 1
 bAlternateSetting 1
 bNumEndpoints 1
 bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
 bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
 bInterfaceProtocol 0
 iInterface 0
 AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 7
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 1 (AS_GENERAL)
 bTerminalLink 1
 bDelay 1 frames
 wFormatTag 1 PCM
 AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 14
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 2 (FORMAT_TYPE)
 bFormatType 1 (FORMAT_TYPE_I)
 bNrChannels 2
 bSubframeSize 2
 bBitResolution 16
 bSamFreqType 2 Discrete
 tSamFreq[ 0] 48000
 tSamFreq[ 1] 44100
 Endpoint Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 5
 bEndpointAddress 0x01 EP 1 OUT
 bmAttributes 9
 Transfer Type Isochronous
 Synch Type Adaptive
 Usage Type Data
 wMaxPacketSize 0x00c8 1x 200 bytes
 bInterval 1
 bRefresh 0
 bSynchAddress 0
 AudioControl Endpoint Descriptor:
 bLength 7
 bDescriptorType 37
 bDescriptorSubtype 1 (EP_GENERAL)
 bmAttributes 0x01
 Sampling Frequency
 bLockDelayUnits 1 Milliseconds
 wLockDelay 1 Milliseconds
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 2
 bAlternateSetting 0
 bNumEndpoints 0
 bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
 bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
 bInterfaceProtocol 0
 iInterface 0
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 2
 bAlternateSetting 1
 bNumEndpoints 1
 bInterfaceClass 1 Audio
 bInterfaceSubClass 2 Streaming
 bInterfaceProtocol 0
 iInterface 0
 AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 7
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 1 (AS_GENERAL)
 bTerminalLink 7
 bDelay 1 frames
 wFormatTag 1 PCM
 AudioStreaming Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 14
 bDescriptorType 36
 bDescriptorSubtype 2 (FORMAT_TYPE)
 bFormatType 1 (FORMAT_TYPE_I)
 bNrChannels 1
 bSubframeSize 2
 bBitResolution 16
 bSamFreqType 2 Discrete
 tSamFreq[ 0] 48000
 tSamFreq[ 1] 44100
 Endpoint Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 5
 bEndpointAddress 0x82 EP 2 IN
 bmAttributes 5
 Transfer Type Isochronous
 Synch Type Asynchronous
 Usage Type Data
 wMaxPacketSize 0x0064 1x 100 bytes
 bInterval 1
 bRefresh 0
 bSynchAddress 0
 AudioControl Endpoint Descriptor:
 bLength 7
 bDescriptorType 37
 bDescriptorSubtype 1 (EP_GENERAL)
 bmAttributes 0x01
 Sampling Frequency
 bLockDelayUnits 0 Undefined
 wLockDelay 0 Undefined
 Interface Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 4
 bInterfaceNumber 3
 bAlternateSetting 0
 bNumEndpoints 1
 bInterfaceClass 3 Human Interface Device
 bInterfaceSubClass 0 No Subclass
 bInterfaceProtocol 0 None
 iInterface 0
 HID Device Descriptor:
 bLength 9
 bDescriptorType 33
 bcdHID 1.00
 bCountryCode 0 Not supported
 bNumDescriptors 1
 bDescriptorType 34 Report
 wDescriptorLength 50
 Report Descriptors:
 ** UNAVAILABLE **
 Endpoint Descriptor:
 bLength 7
 bDescriptorType 5
 bEndpointAddress 0x83 EP 3 IN
 bmAttributes 3
 Transfer Type Interrupt
 Synch Type None
 Usage Type Data
 wMaxPacketSize 0x0004 1x 4 bytes
 bInterval 32
Device Status: 0x0000
 (Bus Powered)
#

Open paman Devices>Sources and open the properties. From there you can change the volume to whatever you need.