Hi all,
A freind just asked me how we can convert his vinyl collection to digital format, either mp3 or cda. Sounds simple but not sure how it can be done.
I thought about using a phono stage and feeding teh mic input of my sound blaster card on my PC but I would imagine its designed for much lower voltage signal, any one ever done this?
thanks.
A freind just asked me how we can convert his vinyl collection to digital format, either mp3 or cda. Sounds simple but not sure how it can be done.
I thought about using a phono stage and feeding teh mic input of my sound blaster card on my PC but I would imagine its designed for much lower voltage signal, any one ever done this?
thanks.
Use a phono preamp. One built into a good amp or a standalone is fine.
Use the line input of your soundcard. The quality of the resulting sound will depend a lot on the quality of the soundcard. An m-audio AudioPhile will sound much better than a Soundblasted card, another good bet is to use a standalone ADC and record the sound into a digital input. A Soundblaster will then deliver acceptable results.
Do let me know if you need further help on this.
Use the line input of your soundcard. The quality of the resulting sound will depend a lot on the quality of the soundcard. An m-audio AudioPhile will sound much better than a Soundblasted card, another good bet is to use a standalone ADC and record the sound into a digital input. A Soundblaster will then deliver acceptable results.
Do let me know if you need further help on this.
Thanks Sangram,
I didnt even know I had a line input in my soundcard, thought it was a mic input. I dont have an audiophile soundcard but Im not sure hes so into his music quality, just has alot of rare vinyl especially jazz which he wants to convert to digital.
BTW what is a "stand alone ADC?"
I didnt even know I had a line input in my soundcard, thought it was a mic input. I dont have an audiophile soundcard but Im not sure hes so into his music quality, just has alot of rare vinyl especially jazz which he wants to convert to digital.
BTW what is a "stand alone ADC?"
The following are colour codes of sockets on a soundcard:
Green: Front out
Black: Rear out
Pink: Mic In
Blue: Line in
If you can see a blue socket on your soundcard you have a line in. There are more sockets on a lot of cards but for a regular soundcard that should be it. Even inbuilt soundcards such as those found on the newer computers have line in.
A standalone ADC is just like a standalone DAC. except in reverse. It takes an audio stream, maybe stereo, and converts it into a digital stream. You can find plenty of these in studios etc. m-Audio makes a little USB audio device that's pretty good at this.
If you need to convert rare vinyl specially jazz, I'm sure that he'll want good sound quality. I use a SoundBlaster myself, and I'm not unhappy with results (I've been converting tons of tapes to digital) specially in combination with good restoration software (for getting rid of noise) but it could've been better.
You should try out a few and see if you are happy with the results.
Green: Front out
Black: Rear out
Pink: Mic In
Blue: Line in
If you can see a blue socket on your soundcard you have a line in. There are more sockets on a lot of cards but for a regular soundcard that should be it. Even inbuilt soundcards such as those found on the newer computers have line in.
A standalone ADC is just like a standalone DAC. except in reverse. It takes an audio stream, maybe stereo, and converts it into a digital stream. You can find plenty of these in studios etc. m-Audio makes a little USB audio device that's pretty good at this.
If you need to convert rare vinyl specially jazz, I'm sure that he'll want good sound quality. I use a SoundBlaster myself, and I'm not unhappy with results (I've been converting tons of tapes to digital) specially in combination with good restoration software (for getting rid of noise) but it could've been better.
You should try out a few and see if you are happy with the results.
SkinnyBoy:
You must have one of the newer cards which have combo sockets. Not uncommon. Cost/space saving.
You can either record, or use a set of rear speakers. Primary use in the home segment would be for rear speakers for surround setups.
I still don't see the joke. I must've read the thread 4 times.
You must have one of the newer cards which have combo sockets. Not uncommon. Cost/space saving.
You can either record, or use a set of rear speakers. Primary use in the home segment would be for rear speakers for surround setups.
I still don't see the joke. I must've read the thread 4 times.
Skinnyboy.
Yeah you're probably right, some cards may have different types of colours. This side of the world every card I've seen follows a similar kind of colour. No big deal.
Luke:
I would recommend a nice free utility like Audacity or Soundengine. Look for wave editors, most of them can save the incoming file after it is recorded as wave file.
I would suggest using LAME to encode into MP3. I personally use Blade, which I find sufficiently high quality.
You can't 'save' a track as .cda. .cda files are virtual files, which are a directory system designed for audio CDs. Any CD-burning software will be able to burn the wave (or MP3) files onto an audio CD. The .cda files will be created automatically. think of the .cdas as shortcuts or roadsigns, the actual road being the wave file.
Yeah you're probably right, some cards may have different types of colours. This side of the world every card I've seen follows a similar kind of colour. No big deal.
Luke:
I would recommend a nice free utility like Audacity or Soundengine. Look for wave editors, most of them can save the incoming file after it is recorded as wave file.
I would suggest using LAME to encode into MP3. I personally use Blade, which I find sufficiently high quality.
You can't 'save' a track as .cda. .cda files are virtual files, which are a directory system designed for audio CDs. Any CD-burning software will be able to burn the wave (or MP3) files onto an audio CD. The .cda files will be created automatically. think of the .cdas as shortcuts or roadsigns, the actual road being the wave file.
Cool.
Find the software you need at www.hitsquad.com/smm.
It's a good place for music software, plugins and the like.
Find the software you need at www.hitsquad.com/smm.
It's a good place for music software, plugins and the like.
Have you seen the TerraTec Phno/USB adapter?
You find it here:
http://www.terratec.net/ttdk/default.htm
You find it here:
http://www.terratec.net/ttdk/default.htm
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.