I have bunch of vinyl that I'd like to get into my MP3 library. Any experience-based recommendations on equipment and software?
Vinyl > CD or MP3?
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
I've never seen one of these with a USB port
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I don't have any hard/software recommendations, sorry, but I would suggest putting the music on cd first if you have the time.
The audio compression of mp3's ruins the quality of music from vinyl when played on a nice stereo system and so it would be nice to have cd's to play as well.
The audio compression of mp3's ruins the quality of music from vinyl when played on a nice stereo system and so it would be nice to have cd's to play as well.
To put music from vinyl to cd you need to put it on your computer first, so no matter what you are stuck with the mp3 quality. I would assume you are willing to lose some quality when converting from vinyl to other formats. I have taken a few of my records and digitized them. I took a 2 way male headphone jack from my tuner to my line in port on my computer. I just recorded the line in as a new sound. The quality was ok, but you hear EVERYTHING. The cracks, whistles, pops, and any defect on the record transfers onto the digital file. After getting all the records defects you don't really notice he lack of highs and lows.
This is completely and utterly incorrect.
Mp3 quality can actually be astoundingly good. Just crank the bit rate up to oh say, over 1,000 kbps. the resulting file size would be enourmous. But hey, hard drives are cheap these days.
Also, did you try googling "usb turntable"?:
http://www.amazon.com/Ion-TTUSB-Turntable-USB-Record/dp/B000BUEMOO
Also, did you try googling "usb turntable"?:
http://www.amazon.com/Ion-TTUSB-Turntable-USB-Record/dp/B000BUEMOO
What the VoR said.
Don't use line in. That's retarded. Unless you have a REALLY high quality audio card.
Yes, you'll get some of the cracks and pops, but that's part of the process. There are some audio editing programs out there that will let you clean it up, but they are pricey.
if you don't use line in on yr soundcard, what do you use?
i pretty much do what PSP said...run a 1/8" coax > dual RCA plug from my preamp output to soundcard input, and use CoolEdit Pro to capture the ensuing wav file.
from there, you can normalize it, trim off the leading and trailing bits and cut up into individual tracks. as long as the record is pretty clean i don't worry about trying to remove pops and surface noise...once you are all set you can either convert the wavs to FLAC, or mp3.
if you don't use line in on yr soundcard, what do you use?
i pretty much do what PSP said...run a 1/8" coax > dual RCA plug from my preamp output to soundcard input, and use CoolEdit Pro to capture the ensuing wav file.
from there, you can normalize it, trim off the leading and trailing bits and cut up into individual tracks. as long as the record is pretty clean i don't worry about trying to remove pops and surface noise...once you are all set you can either convert the wavs to FLAC, or mp3.
There are turntables that have USB output.
and they are not known for their high fidelity...
obviously a higher quality sound card would be better (and i looked into getting a turtle beach external card for a bit), but at the end of the day if i rip vinyl it's for the iPod and sound quality isn't paramount...if i want that, i listen to the record.
obviously a higher quality sound card would be better (and i looked into getting a turtle beach external card for a bit), but at the end of the day if i rip vinyl it's for the iPod and sound quality isn't paramount...if i want that, i listen to the record.
exactly. As good as digital is, it will NEVER be as good as analog.
Are you surprised?
In blind test most people cannot tell the difference between original and 160 kbps VBR encoding. Digital can easily surpass human detection these days so its moot.
I only said it would never be as good. I didn't say we would be able to tell the difference.
I approve of you pedanticalness!
What about using a USB-Phono Preamp ?
Like this one ( or similar ? )
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390043113267&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX&refitem=270369123531&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&refwidgettype=osi_widget&_trksid=p284.m263&_trkparms=algo=SIC&its=I%2BC%2BP%2BS%2BIA&itu=IA%2BUCI%2BUA&otn=4&ps=10
Like this one ( or similar ? )
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390043113267&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX&refitem=270369123531&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&refwidgettype=osi_widget&_trksid=p284.m263&_trkparms=algo=SIC&its=I%2BC%2BP%2BS%2BIA&itu=IA%2BUCI%2BUA&otn=4&ps=10
160? i bet i could...
anyway, another problem is the mastering and compression of cds these days....can you say fatigue?
At a high enough volume, you could probably tell the difference at even 192.
There have been various double blind tests including ones with so-called audiophiles (makes sense as audiophiles tend to be middle aged - its well proven that even naturally the ability declines with age
). Keep in mind its VBR, not CBR which makes a big difference.They also found (as you can imagine) rate required varies by music type.
The SNR (89dB) on that eBay thing splat posted isn't that great. Probably would match up with a portable DAP but not much else.
In the real world even CD quality is fine for the majority. SACD and DVD-Audio are still not popular and they've been around for ten years.
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I'm pretty sure Wadia Digital did an ADC (analog to digital converter) a number of years back. My guess is that even if you could find a used one it would still cost $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. I would also be willing to say that the sound you would get out of it would be amazing.
If you wanna sink money into audio equipment, get a laser turntable.
if i'm gonna be buying something laser-related, it's gonna be a shark that shoots lasers out of its eyes.
Yes, I did, and the summary of what I read was that quality of USB turntables suxorz.
I want a shark that shoots lasers out of its asshole. Everyone knows the front end of a shark is dangerous but sharkbutt? The looks on peoples faces would be priceless.
check out turntablelab.com
It's mostly DJ stuff, but they may have audio converters, or turntables, or straight burners if that's what you're looking for. It's a great shop with good service.
It's mostly DJ stuff, but they may have audio converters, or turntables, or straight burners if that's what you're looking for. It's a great shop with good service.
http://www.turntablelab.com/production_tools/440/1767/
beep boop beep berp borp
pretty sure cds have inherently higher sound quality than mp3s, but everything is adjustable these days.
beep boop beep berp borp
pretty sure cds have inherently higher sound quality than mp3s, but everything is adjustable these days.
as others have pointed out, the usb turntable -> mp3 sound quality is somewhat questionable. Friends of mine have tried this w/ poor results. I'd research any model you're thinking of picking it up.
I do it the "old" way when I do it.
Technics 1200 -> Mixer (ecler nuo 2.0) -> Soundcard (tascam fw1082) -> audio editor (ableton live/ apple soundtrack pro)... and then I crop, minor level adjustment & remove pop/clips. Then I make into a 320kbps CBR mp3 and write the id3 tags w/ itunes
It's quite intensive, but gives the best results.
I do it the "old" way when I do it.
Technics 1200 -> Mixer (ecler nuo 2.0) -> Soundcard (tascam fw1082) -> audio editor (ableton live/ apple soundtrack pro)... and then I crop, minor level adjustment & remove pop/clips. Then I make into a 320kbps CBR mp3 and write the id3 tags w/ itunes
It's quite intensive, but gives the best results.
Could you explain compression to me?
I am transferring a 3tb database thru several firewalls using a multithreaded encrypted script. Do you think I use mp3's instead of vinyl it would work faster.
i do it the "new way": i let you do this. and then i download your 320 kbps properly tagged tracks off of bittorrent. <-- actually i don't, as torrents often have suck-ass quality and poor-quality tags. i miss oink: it had it all going on.
Get a good turntable with a good stylus and plug 'er into this:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/EMu-0404-PCI-Digital-Audio-Recording-System?sku=240390
Yer welcome.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/EMu-0404-PCI-Digital-Audio-Recording-System?sku=240390
Yer welcome.
Most of that stuff I've come across in torrents is junk. I'd rather just go & rip it myself & assure the data is good. The only online stuff I get these days is from people I actually know. Much of the things I'm ripping didn't make the jump to cd/digital.
FLAC - http://flac.sourceforge.net/
Since this is RM, monkey is good too but not as well supported -
http://www.monkeysaudio.com
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Just picked up one of these along with a large stack of old vinyl. Can't wait until after I move and I can bust out the tube amp and big speakers.
Just picked up one of these along with a large stack of old vinyl. Can't wait until after I move and I can bust out the tube amp and big speakers.
Then you put a mic by each speaker and run it into a stereo feed in ProTools, press record, then slice up audio files into tracks.Just picked up one of these along with a large stack of old vinyl. Can't wait until after I move and I can bust out the tube amp and big speakers.
Since the recording functions of ProTools require a license use Audacity instead... By the time you setup and figure out Pro Tools you will be done using Audacity for the conversions or parsing tracks for that matter....
wow, reading this thread and seeing coherent posts by PSP before he destroyed his brain cells is quite amazing
dude what are high and lows .... in the time machine I go... Actually listend to a record tonight that I haven't heard since the days of preride monkey.