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What computer do you have? What stereo equipment? Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Mon, 25 Apr 2005 06:19:42
In Reply to: OT: Making CDs from vinyl, OKSaabs, Sat, 23 Apr 2005 10:08:52 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Basically you need the turntable, a preamp, and a computer with stereo audio in.
If you already have a stereo that has a Phono input, you've got the preamp. All you need is a set of cables to output from the Line Out on your stereo to your computer.
In my case, I've got a Mac Powerbook, and it has stereo audio in. Same with my old Mac 6500 desktop. I just made a cable with RCA male plugs on one side and a stereo miniplug on the other (which fits into the Mac input). I could have also bought it at Radio Shack.
On my Mac, I run Amadeus. I record one whole side at a time as a single file. It's a shareware program that allows me to record the record in AIFF format, which is the Mac format for full-fidelity recording. It creates big files, but it's done at the same sample rate as CDs (44.1Khz). I edit out the clicks and pops, cut the big file into individual tracks, and use iTunes to burn CDs that will play in any CD player. I can also use iTunes to create MP3s, to make MP3 disks.
I'm sure that the same is available for PCs. I'll guess you need a stereo Audio in board, and various shareware software programs.
Some things to note - recording vinyl is done in real time. Unlike ripping a CD, you don't speed anything up. You then have some choices. You can record the entire side of the record as a single file, and burn that to CD. Nice, but no separate tracks like on an actual CD of the record. Most of the software programs out there have utilities to cut the file up into tracks, but it still requires human intervention. For a typical 45 minute vinyl record, I assume about 1 1/2 hours or more to get it converted - a lot depends on the condition of the album. If it is in good shape, it requires very little clean-up, and it goes fast. If it's noisy, it can take quite a while to clean it up.
The other thing is what you want for an output. If you want a CD that will play in any CD player, you need software that will burn it in that format. AGain, iTUnes works pretty good, and it is availabe for Windows, too. I'm sure there are others out there that work just as well. If you want MP3, you'll get a lot more music in a smaller space, but there is some loss of quality - MP3 isn't lossless compression. However, one could argue that depending on the quality of your turntable, needle, preamp, and most importantly, condition of the record, the MP3 format might be good enough.
My approach was to record the vinyl onto a CD without compression - the same CD sampling rate. For the effort it takes, I don't want to give up anything. CDs are cheap. If I want to rip that down to MP3, I can, but I can always go back to the 'standard' when the NEXT great compression method comes along.
posted by 192.249....
, Mon, 25 Apr 2005 06:19:42 <-- Viewing This Message
, Sat, 23 Apr 2005 20:49:19
, Sat, 23 Apr 2005 11:49:20
, Sat, 23 Apr 2005 11:35:22
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