You do understand that if a TT is spinning too fast, two things change: Tempo, and pitch. However, with modern DSP is possible to change only one of those two things while leaving the other one the same as original. So what is it you are having Audacity do, fix one thing or both things?
Also, when records were mastered, sometimes the tapes were sped up or slowed down to make the tempo of the music sound sound better to client. When that was done it also changed the pitch of all the instruments. IOW, it was the artist's intent to change the playback speed and pitch. In some cases are you trying "fix" the artist intent?
The online manual says I can change the pitch and tempo at the same time. After all, a 33 rpm played at 45 will result in the song played in a different pitch, and the drum beats will occur quicker (increase in tempo) and the song will end earlier. It is different from singing the song slower.
No, I only have a copy of the 'final master', so this will not be a possibility. I follow the 'final product' approach, not 'artists intention'. The artists intention was to have his song or his group song played over the radio (transistor radio) of low quality, in many cases, and have people buy many records, and play them on anything, even a suitcase player.
As I have mentioned before, artists never intended their music to be distributed on CDs, streamed, or even taped.
The bootleg LP was - apart from the speed - pretty rubbish, with typical minimal cover, poor sound and a plain label. I don't have the new LP version as we need to eat, the CDs are much better value.
The bootleg CD, from around 20 years later, was much better, with excellent sound and packaging. It could pass for an official product, although the official version has better, clearer sound.
I always buy the official releases, of course: artists have to make money.
Geoff
Speed Adjustment
It was time for speed adjustment, actually, I should have done this in the beginning, but I did not have the jeweler's screwdrivers to do this.
Instead of adjusting the speed while the turntable was running, I turned the screw 90 degrees clockwise. This turned out to be too slow, at 32 rpm or so, from the initial 34 odd figure. Next, I turned the screw to 45 degrees, and that worked! 33.33 on the scale. Wow seems to have increased, will have to test.
It was time for speed adjustment, actually, I should have done this in the beginning, but I did not have the jeweler's screwdrivers to do this.
Instead of adjusting the speed while the turntable was running, I turned the screw 90 degrees clockwise. This turned out to be too slow, at 32 rpm or so, from the initial 34 odd figure. Next, I turned the screw to 45 degrees, and that worked! 33.33 on the scale. Wow seems to have increased, will have to test.
This time, testing the record speed with the app, after speed adjustment done yesterda, wow readings went from 0.20% to 0.62% and o.55%, measured on two separate tests, with the phone moved to a slightly different position each time. I was eager to listen for any change in the sound, and playing one or two tracks, the music sounded slower than before, of course, and possibly a little wow was detected but tolerable. This thing is still usable.
Input to the laptop sound port needs a combined microphone and audio input adapter, so I was able to test direct recording to the laptop from the mini RCA output, that will have to wait. I was, however, able to connect the headphones directly, for checking. Listening on headphones connected to the line out port resulted in the usual surprisingly good quality sound, but the sound output volume was not very high, even at full volume. Comparing with the mp3 recording converted to FLAC, the mp3 recording done through the EZcaps hardware, the mp3 sounded slightly harsh at the upper end. The mp3 was played back to the headphones out of the laptop headphone out port.
Some of the tracks were heard to have skipping on them, but this was not heard on the closely monitored playback. Could this be due to momentary delays in the audio to USB mp3 onboard conversion? Further testing is required.
Input to the laptop sound port needs a combined microphone and audio input adapter, so I was able to test direct recording to the laptop from the mini RCA output, that will have to wait. I was, however, able to connect the headphones directly, for checking. Listening on headphones connected to the line out port resulted in the usual surprisingly good quality sound, but the sound output volume was not very high, even at full volume. Comparing with the mp3 recording converted to FLAC, the mp3 recording done through the EZcaps hardware, the mp3 sounded slightly harsh at the upper end. The mp3 was played back to the headphones out of the laptop headphone out port.
Some of the tracks were heard to have skipping on them, but this was not heard on the closely monitored playback. Could this be due to momentary delays in the audio to USB mp3 onboard conversion? Further testing is required.
Comparing a YouTube version of the song with the transferred and speed adjusted song:
The YouTube version has
Better overall quality, depth of sound. The speed seemed slightly faster.
The EZCap version seemed to have a little detectable wow, confirming tests.
How will it fare with batteries?
The YouTube version has
Better overall quality, depth of sound. The speed seemed slightly faster.
The EZCap version seemed to have a little detectable wow, confirming tests.
How will it fare with batteries?
More Testing - and disassembly
With the wow reading high, I decided to open up the case again and check out the internals of the EZCap 613. I planned to remove the belt from the platter and run the wow and flutter app on the turntable alone, spinning by itself. If the spinning was even, without any peaks, denoting pulses from the motor, I could then attribute the speed variation to the motor controller system. The motor puts out its own whirring noise, which I recorded through the smart phone placed in contact with the case, and some of this gets through to the recording as well, in the quiet sections.
Opening up was easy, and the single board contained a 8002 IC that served for amplification, in mono, that is, to the single speaker. That explained the low volumes, thought the 8002 is a fairly nice sounding chip.
Removing the belt, I spun the platter with the smart phone app running. From what I could see, the speed variation, the peaks and valleys were not seen in this analysis, so I concluded that it was the motor and speed control system. Everything back in place, and it was not too difficult to put back the belt at all, which attached to what I know is a smooth turning turntable platter.
This time I tried the speed test with the record on (weighing 180 g or so) and the smart phone (another 180g). This slowed the record down a little, which I hear is usual, however, it left me with some concern about the bearings. I obtained excellent figures with this setup, but weight will have to be less than this if I expect any sort of longevity. I wished for the large platter model I originally wanted to buy that 'would not ship to your location'. I was not able to find any wow and flutter testing of lower cost turntables, this is a major factor with these things.
I even tried connecting my headphone input to the wires from the cartridge, the wires going to the board, but heard nothing at all through headphones.
With the wow reading high, I decided to open up the case again and check out the internals of the EZCap 613. I planned to remove the belt from the platter and run the wow and flutter app on the turntable alone, spinning by itself. If the spinning was even, without any peaks, denoting pulses from the motor, I could then attribute the speed variation to the motor controller system. The motor puts out its own whirring noise, which I recorded through the smart phone placed in contact with the case, and some of this gets through to the recording as well, in the quiet sections.
Opening up was easy, and the single board contained a 8002 IC that served for amplification, in mono, that is, to the single speaker. That explained the low volumes, thought the 8002 is a fairly nice sounding chip.
Removing the belt, I spun the platter with the smart phone app running. From what I could see, the speed variation, the peaks and valleys were not seen in this analysis, so I concluded that it was the motor and speed control system. Everything back in place, and it was not too difficult to put back the belt at all, which attached to what I know is a smooth turning turntable platter.
This time I tried the speed test with the record on (weighing 180 g or so) and the smart phone (another 180g). This slowed the record down a little, which I hear is usual, however, it left me with some concern about the bearings. I obtained excellent figures with this setup, but weight will have to be less than this if I expect any sort of longevity. I wished for the large platter model I originally wanted to buy that 'would not ship to your location'. I was not able to find any wow and flutter testing of lower cost turntables, this is a major factor with these things.
I even tried connecting my headphone input to the wires from the cartridge, the wires going to the board, but heard nothing at all through headphones.
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As for weights, these are the figures:
12 Inch LP: 115 g
Smart Phone with cover: 246 g
45 Adapter: 2.4 g
Smart phone without cover: 196 g
The weight that was used to reduce wow is therefore a total of 250g over the record weight. This seems to be extreme and may place an undue load on the bearing. The cardboard platter I use for testing speed without the record weighs in at 16g.
One option is to use a large platter that has a greater moment of inertia. I have a strobe printout that seems to indicate a speed variation with the bars on the disk moving in pulses instead of being steady. I have a strobe app on the phone. I think I will have to use the strobe method.
https://www.quadesl.com/pdf/strobe.pdf
12 Inch LP: 115 g
Smart Phone with cover: 246 g
45 Adapter: 2.4 g
Smart phone without cover: 196 g
The weight that was used to reduce wow is therefore a total of 250g over the record weight. This seems to be extreme and may place an undue load on the bearing. The cardboard platter I use for testing speed without the record weighs in at 16g.
One option is to use a large platter that has a greater moment of inertia. I have a strobe printout that seems to indicate a speed variation with the bars on the disk moving in pulses instead of being steady. I have a strobe app on the phone. I think I will have to use the strobe method.
https://www.quadesl.com/pdf/strobe.pdf
With the EZCap 613, the strobe marks move more like the ones in the video of the gramophone than the rock-steady modern turntable here.
Clearly something must be done. The app I use is strobe engineer. Strobes are supposed to be more accurate than the rpm app, (RPM WOW) that I am using.
Clearly something must be done. The app I use is strobe engineer. Strobes are supposed to be more accurate than the rpm app, (RPM WOW) that I am using.
A sound check this morning comparing the YouTube song - different uploads - was again surprising. The EZCap turntable recorded .mp3 sounded spot on in pitch, speed, and there was even some detail that could be heard in addition. The sound was smooth, fluid and pleasant. No hint of wow or flutter, and this was from the speed-corrected version of the recording. The speed variations are on par with a name brand turntable which seems to be using similar hardware, as far as I know, and has been pointed out on the other thread.
A totally successful result, establishing the sheer worth of going in for better equipment, and a better turntable.
A totally successful result, establishing the sheer worth of going in for better equipment, and a better turntable.
More and more accurate testing
Testing with batteries powering the EZCap was performed. As an unintended benefit, the platform for testing rpm was changed to a simple roll of masking tape placed atop the platter, and the phone placed on top of that. The Smart Phone was centred using a ruler. Results were much improved, both for the wow readings with battery power and with USB 5V power. Low results of 0.16% wow was recorded, admittedly with the load of a 180g smart phone instead of a 118g record, but with the listening tests, this seems to be reasonable. Better than the Audio - Technica.
Confirmed results:
On battery power: Wow (RMS): 0.13%, 0.14%, 0.13%
On 5V USB from USB out of phone charger: 0.18%, 0.18% and 0.19%
Testing with batteries powering the EZCap was performed. As an unintended benefit, the platform for testing rpm was changed to a simple roll of masking tape placed atop the platter, and the phone placed on top of that. The Smart Phone was centred using a ruler. Results were much improved, both for the wow readings with battery power and with USB 5V power. Low results of 0.16% wow was recorded, admittedly with the load of a 180g smart phone instead of a 118g record, but with the listening tests, this seems to be reasonable. Better than the Audio - Technica.
Confirmed results:
On battery power: Wow (RMS): 0.13%, 0.14%, 0.13%
On 5V USB from USB out of phone charger: 0.18%, 0.18% and 0.19%
I just received some records brought in last night from 'home'. This morning I tested the first one: the EZCap player proved its worth, although that is because the original CD conversion recording was not good: with background noise, skipping and a buzz that could be due to a bad connection.
With the EZCap recording, and this was to mp3 using the onboard connector, (but monitored through headphones) sound was somewhat muted, but pleasant, 'warm' as they say, but I call it 'fluid'. I will be purchasing a cable soon, for direct recording. The skipping persisted, and the record is running noticeably slow, about 2%, but nothing that can't be fixed through Audacity or the adjustment. Skipping will be handled through an anti-skipping weight. To be fair, the last record I played played through without skipping except once. The record looks in great shape on 'on the surface', so the noises and skipping was puzzling.
Here are the wave forms: the one on the left is the recording I got done about 5 or more years ago, the one on the right is the unprocessed EZcap 613 recording.
When normalizing, -3dB seems a better option than 0 dB, it seems to generate some distortion, although not showing any peaks in Audacity. Maybe the amplifier cannot cope.
I would recommend the EZCap 613 only if you have some old records that are of bad quality and also the test the sound of vinyl. I make quite a few mistakes, so there is not sense in using a high quality turntable as the first one. The records are played maybe once or twice, just long enough to get a good .wav or FLAC capture. Depending on results here, a good entry level turntable is planned, depending on space and where we locate, and a whole new system around it (after I visit some Hi-Fi showrooms).
With the EZCap recording, and this was to mp3 using the onboard connector, (but monitored through headphones) sound was somewhat muted, but pleasant, 'warm' as they say, but I call it 'fluid'. I will be purchasing a cable soon, for direct recording. The skipping persisted, and the record is running noticeably slow, about 2%, but nothing that can't be fixed through Audacity or the adjustment. Skipping will be handled through an anti-skipping weight. To be fair, the last record I played played through without skipping except once. The record looks in great shape on 'on the surface', so the noises and skipping was puzzling.
Here are the wave forms: the one on the left is the recording I got done about 5 or more years ago, the one on the right is the unprocessed EZcap 613 recording.
When normalizing, -3dB seems a better option than 0 dB, it seems to generate some distortion, although not showing any peaks in Audacity. Maybe the amplifier cannot cope.
I would recommend the EZCap 613 only if you have some old records that are of bad quality and also the test the sound of vinyl. I make quite a few mistakes, so there is not sense in using a high quality turntable as the first one. The records are played maybe once or twice, just long enough to get a good .wav or FLAC capture. Depending on results here, a good entry level turntable is planned, depending on space and where we locate, and a whole new system around it (after I visit some Hi-Fi showrooms).
This record is coming through fine, it was in somewhat dirty, after some washing with water alone.
https://www.discogs.com/release/3314363-Steve-Smith-5-And-Vital-Information-Fiafiaga-Celebration
It is an mp3 recording, sounds good except for the very telling breakup on the cymbals, which sound like trash when they are heard, a sort of shimmering effect that only mp3 could produce.
https://www.discogs.com/release/3314363-Steve-Smith-5-And-Vital-Information-Fiafiaga-Celebration
It is an mp3 recording, sounds good except for the very telling breakup on the cymbals, which sound like trash when they are heard, a sort of shimmering effect that only mp3 could produce.
I initially used the on-board conversion hardware to create mp3 s of the record tracks. This worked well, but after all these are trashy mp3s. The other option is to connect the line out (which works fine with an amplifier or headphones) to a computer - but how?
The mini stereo jack of the laptop consists of three separate connections: from the tip of the mini-stereo jack outwards, Left - Right - Common - Microphone.
Connecting a splitter cable did not work for some reason, and even if it did, microphone input is mono.
Quoting from earlier posts:
The Audio Technica, which some say is the go-to and others advise running away from, converts the audio into .wav format, not mp3. Some USB turntables allow the user to convert to .wav and other formats.
The question is how to proceed: The pictured devices are not working. As an aside, I have an EZCap Casette Tape converter, and I got it working with the USB output into Audacity. The quality of the 30 year old casette left much to be desired, so I have to decide what I am doing with my tapes. It does, however, raise the possibility of using a converter of some sort from the line out and connecting that to the USB port on the PC, just like with the casette player. The EZCap record player does have an USB out, but that is specified as a power in connection, so I will not be trying to connect that to the USB port. It will I guess just provide power.
The image on the right is of mini stereo jack from headphones: includes the microphone connection and the microphone on the headset works fine through this, to capture sounds through Audacity and write them to a .wav. This is called a TTRS jack, as I found out.
The image on the right is the cable I purchased, surprised it did not work, however only mono input.
There are two options : an USB sound card or a vinyl converter cable. Has anyone used these? I know some other devices suggested, but these are not for right now.
USB Audio Capture Recorder Card Converts Vinyl Turntable LP/Cassette Tape Audio to MP3/WAV
UGREEN USB Audio Adapter External Stereo Sound Card with Headphone Mic Jack and USB to 3.5mm Audio TRRS Jack Adapter Bundle
My guess is that the sound card only takes in a mono signal...
The mini stereo jack of the laptop consists of three separate connections: from the tip of the mini-stereo jack outwards, Left - Right - Common - Microphone.
Connecting a splitter cable did not work for some reason, and even if it did, microphone input is mono.
Quoting from earlier posts:
The Audio Technica, which some say is the go-to and others advise running away from, converts the audio into .wav format, not mp3. Some USB turntables allow the user to convert to .wav and other formats.
The question is how to proceed: The pictured devices are not working. As an aside, I have an EZCap Casette Tape converter, and I got it working with the USB output into Audacity. The quality of the 30 year old casette left much to be desired, so I have to decide what I am doing with my tapes. It does, however, raise the possibility of using a converter of some sort from the line out and connecting that to the USB port on the PC, just like with the casette player. The EZCap record player does have an USB out, but that is specified as a power in connection, so I will not be trying to connect that to the USB port. It will I guess just provide power.
The image on the right is of mini stereo jack from headphones: includes the microphone connection and the microphone on the headset works fine through this, to capture sounds through Audacity and write them to a .wav. This is called a TTRS jack, as I found out.
The image on the right is the cable I purchased, surprised it did not work, however only mono input.
There are two options : an USB sound card or a vinyl converter cable. Has anyone used these? I know some other devices suggested, but these are not for right now.
USB Audio Capture Recorder Card Converts Vinyl Turntable LP/Cassette Tape Audio to MP3/WAV
UGREEN USB Audio Adapter External Stereo Sound Card with Headphone Mic Jack and USB to 3.5mm Audio TRRS Jack Adapter Bundle
My guess is that the sound card only takes in a mono signal...
OK so never mind the 'sound card'
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Note: I know that many of you have suggested I spend some money and buy better equipment. I probably could, however I do not feel comfortable getting a good turntable until I have a proper space to put it in, and an suitable amplifier, speakers and speaker stands and experience at handling these things.
Right now I am experimenting at the very low level of audio, and learning stuff. Think of it as a simulation.
I have only 14 records in my collection, many of them in bad condition.
Right now I am experimenting at the very low level of audio, and learning stuff. Think of it as a simulation.
I have only 14 records in my collection, many of them in bad condition.
Normalizing -3dB (show below zoomed in ) and speed changes do not work well for audio quality. Better to start with the right speed and use FLAC.
Shown is an mp3 normalization. There is a reason for the quality changes on digital signal processing, even recorded in Audacity at 44100. Oh wait I can record at higher resolution: 384,000.
Shown is an mp3 normalization. There is a reason for the quality changes on digital signal processing, even recorded in Audacity at 44100. Oh wait I can record at higher resolution: 384,000.