Was: Help With LP to CD Transfer / Now CD - CF Recorder opinions?

[dfunghi]

Hi all,
I do not own any type of equipment to transfer an LP to a CD and have been asked to make a dozen or so copies of LPs. They asked for it to be in "a good .aiff (not an .mp4) CD duplicate" format.

Any help appreciated. I have never read anything good about USB TT but I imagine they do exist.

TIA,
D

 

[Poinzy]

If you're going to record to computer, I'd recommend a standard turntable w/ outboard preamp coupled to an outboard USB interface. Integrated ADC's are probably near-bottom-of-the-line converter tech.

 

[KeninDC]

Your turntable>your amp/pre/or receiver>RCA outs>something like this>your computer's USB input.

 

[dfunghi]

Your turntable>your amp/pre/or receiver>RCA outs>something like this>your computer's USB input.

I have been looking at these as well as things like audicity but can not find info on if they make that .aiff level of transfer? I know they do not want a MP3 or "sad" copy.

 

[faber12]

I used a turntable with a preamp in to a sound card line level input. I used audacity to record/process the data. Sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Poinzy]

I have been looking at these as well as things like audicity but can not find info on if they make that .aiff level of transfer? I know they do not want a MP3 or "sad" copy.

The Behringer interfaces record at a maximum of DVD-level audio resolution, so you'd have no problem achieving the CD standard you're looking for.

 

[KeninDC]

I have been looking at these as well as things like audicity but can not find info on if they make that .aiff level of transfer? I know they do not want a MP3 or "sad" copy.

Record to .wav (CD quality). Or better (hi-rez), as noted above. Then you can convert to FLAC, MP3, etc. I believe .aiff is PCM and therefore equivalent to .wav.

You will quickly learn how to adjust levels so you don't go in the red and get clipping. Splitting tracks is also pretty easy, but always tedious. If you have time on your hands, you can de-click and reduce noise (also tedious), but a light hand is needed or you will get digital artifacts. I don't "clean" my needle drops for this reason.

You can go straight into the audio input on your computer (and not use a Behringer, etc.), but you will be at the mercy of your sound card.

 

[KeninDC]

Some industrious people will record at a higher resolution if they plan to clean up artifacts and will then dither down to CD quality when finished. Like any hobby, you can keep it simple or dive into the rabbit hole.

 

[dfunghi]

The process of me glazing over has begun........ I wish I could just make a cassette copy instead! It looks like I can go from the Tape Out on my Holman Apt preamp into a device that will take the RCA and have an USB output. From there it goes to my Mac and I need software (like audicity?) and then burn a CD? Of course my iMac has no disk drive but my older macbook pro does.

 

[dfunghi]

I looked for services that do this and the cheapest is $15 per LP!!!!

I will begin to load SW onto my Mac and buy an interface. I am sure I will be back with many questions.

Thanks all,

 

[Poinzy]

Of course, there's the option of getting a little digital recorder, and not using the computer for recording at all. But the cheapest digital recorders are several times more expensive than the entry-level Behringer interfaces.

Just throwing it out there as an idea anyway.

 

[KeninDC]

Many of these USB/RCA box thingies come with some sort of recording software. I've only done these projects on Windows-based computers. I have a Macbook and I'm guessing you may be able to use Garage Band if you are familiar with that. I use Garage Band with a USB-based Microphone (Blue Snowball) and it works great. I also have Audacity on my Mac and that is pretty smooth, too.

Just an FYI if you ever want an optical drive for your Mac, I recommend and have a Panasonic.

 

[j_loop]

I just go from my preamp into my Mac's audio input via an RCA to mini jack cable and record using Audacity and save the files as aiff.
Super simple and I'm happy with the results.
Splitting and naming the tracks takes a little getting used to, but the repetition of it hammers it home pretty quick.

 

[SSaxdude]

This is how do it:

Record all the audio into Audacity. It's free and easy to use. Save your project as an Audacity project. I like to declick the tracks first.

Then I split the tracks apart and bring each into a new Audacity project. From there I normalize the audio to -.3 dB.

Then export it as FLAC. You can convert this to any other lossless format if you choose. I go with ALAC just for integration into iTunes. AIFF and WAV will just take up extra space without providing better quality.

Converting them to ALAC and adding them to iTunes makes it easy to burn CDs. Though if the endgame is to be used on another computer system (or digital file player) then burning CDs is going to be a waste of time. Memory sticks are incredibly cheap these days and will hold many lossless quality albums.

Keep in mind the limits of your ADC or USB phono preamp. Many budget devices can do 16 bit / 48 kHz maximum.

 

[cdk99]

The process of me glazing over has begun........ I wish I could just make a cassette copy instead! It looks like I can go from the Tape Out on my Holman Apt preamp into a device that will take the RCA and have an USB output. From there it goes to my Mac and I need software (like audicity?) and then burn a CD? Of course my iMac has no disk drive but my older macbook pro does.

If you use a y-cord and the mic in, Amadeus Pro will use the full capacity of the onboard ADC. On my 2009 MBP I can do 128/32. AP will also save to many formats, burn CD's, etc. It's a more posh experience than Audacity. I save all the originals as masters, then you can export the tracks seperately or together, etc. I do FLAC but understand many do not. IME Amadeus is well worth the tariff, just for ease of use.

 

[petemcfc]

I run the signal from my amps Tape Out port to my PCs soundcards Audio In port then as in other posts capture it using Audacity

 

[sqlsavior]

Hi all,
I do not own any type of equipment to transfer an LP to a CD and have been asked to make a dozen or so copies of LPs.

The process of me glazing over has begun.........

You could explain to your requestor that you "do not own any type of equipment to transfer an LP to a CD".

 

[dfunghi]

You could explain to your requestor that you "do not own any type of equipment to transfer an LP to a CD".

Yea, I did that. But if I want to acquire the LPs he wants copies to listen to. He was going to fix his TT and all that but is a computer guy and really wants ease. I said I would make it happen.

I ordered the Behringer. I may use audacity first and see how it works. If not I will pony up the $60 for Amadeus.

Thanks all for the suggestions and help so far.

 

[twiiii]

i do it the old fashion way. I use a professional Marantz CD recorder. It looks like a cassette recorder but with a CD drawer instead. It has a few extra knobs but other wise its like any cassette recorder. I recently bought a MP 100 pre-pre amp, that has a USB connection I don't use but could. Just a simple connection to my Macbook pro and I could do it the computer way with all the bell and whistle processing. I'll stick with Marantz recorder. My experience has been most if not all digital processing leaves a product that does not compare to the original. Where the Marantz yields a very close if not identical copy.

If I want to touch up the source, then a graphic EQ and Dbx processors do the job. The idea of removing pops and clicks is intriguing, but as I am old school and part of the fun is finding a great lp first. I have traveled all over the western United States visiting stores featuring Lp's. A couple of records here a couple there and soon you have a collection you can be proud of. Its easy to go after numbers. Its more fun looking for a particular artist and very select performances. Like my fellow RV owners say. Half the fun is getting there. Searching and obtain just the right performance and making the perfect dub if necessary is almost as much fun as the performance.

 

[dfunghi]

i do it the old fashion way. I use a professional Marantz CD recorder. It looks like a cassette recorder but with a CD drawer instead. It has a few extra knobs but other wise its like any cassette recorder. I recently bought a MP 100 pre-pre amp, that has a USB connection I don't use but could. Just a simple connection to my Macbook pro and I could do it the computer way with all the bell and whistle processing. I'll stick with Marantz recorder. My experience has been most if not all digital processing leaves a product that does not compare to the original. Where the Marantz yields a very close if not identical copy.

If I want to touch up the source, then a graphic EQ and Dbx processors do the job. The idea of removing pops and clicks is intriguing, but as I am old school and part of the fun is finding a great lp first. I have traveled all over the western United States visiting stores featuring Lp's. A couple of records here a couple there and soon you have a collection you can be proud of. Its easy to go after numbers. Its more fun looking for a particular artist and very select performances. Like my fellow RV owners say. Half the fun is getting there. Searching and obtain just the right performance and making the perfect dub if necessary is almost as much fun as the performance.

Is this an offer to lend me the Marantz? I have a Denon CD burner but it only burns one CD from another.