Awesome - it's all good. There are so many variables one can consider...depending on what they want in the end. I have debated burning CD's, but honestly have never gone that route...I'm sure it's easy.
Ripping Vinyl - The Basics
- Thread starter GOS
- Start date
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It is easy but pretty much 1 album=1 CD. That's a lot of ripping & burning. I do a lot upmixing on my PC, frequently with music videos. So a final project rests on an external HD hooked to my PC, an external HD hooked to my Oppo. Also in cases where the music, project is very important too me or maybe family vids & pics I burn a single layer 25 GB M Disc Blu-Ray. It holds a bunch of flac songs & a few hours a music vid with dts 5.1. blu-ray disc is more versatile than DVD/CD for mixing content on.
M Disc
Edit: Blu-Ray is also good for mch flac files. I do stuff in Spec Web & burn to Blu-Ray. Works great.
jimfisheye
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2010
- Messages
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Again, not to derail anything here...
Just some comments on perspective and what to expect.
A vinyl transfer with average consumer equipment and then reduced to CD resolution (16/44.1) might be disappointing at the end of the day after having spent the time and effort.
This is literally one of the more difficult mastering jobs you could come up with. Fussy analog equipment that really needs to be dialed in. There's a steep bell curve for the maximum fidelity and preserving it!
On the other hand...
Some CD masters have the poorest audio quality you'll ever hear! This has nothing to do with ANY limitations of the format (44.1k sample rate or even 16 bit sample resolution). It's either truly awful mastering work or intentional volume war hype. (Or even intentionally degrading the CD version as happened when SACD was introduced with some of the dual layer SACD's with the redbook CD layer.)
For THOSE CD's... you could screw up just about everything. Use a USB turntable... screw up and set the capture to 16 bit. Screw up and use default settings with noise reduction and click repair and just mangle the poor thing. And you'd STILL have a shockingly better copy (ie closer to what the actual studio master sounded like) than the CD.
So there's that.
If you're going for a 'library of congress worthy' HD digital capture, get the proper equipment together so you benefit from the time spent working on it.
If this isn't so serious but you still think you'll get a better listening experience than the CD with just an OK job... you might be right! Go for it and have fun.
If you're hunting for the best copy of something but might not be set up for accurate vinyl playback, be sure to at least check out the various CD releases if there's no bluray or 24 bit download available. I hate to say it but a 320k mp3 from a decently mastered CD will wipe the floor with a vinyl transfer made on DJ equipment. If there's no "decently mastered CD" available... OK, then game on.
Some of you around here already HAVE 'library of congress worthy' vinyl setups!
For those of you that do, you only need a pair (or 4) of excellent AD converter channels. Get yourself a higher end audio interface with excellent AD channels and suddenly you're in the game for this.
Just some comments on perspective and what to expect.
A vinyl transfer with average consumer equipment and then reduced to CD resolution (16/44.1) might be disappointing at the end of the day after having spent the time and effort.
This is literally one of the more difficult mastering jobs you could come up with. Fussy analog equipment that really needs to be dialed in. There's a steep bell curve for the maximum fidelity and preserving it!
On the other hand...
Some CD masters have the poorest audio quality you'll ever hear! This has nothing to do with ANY limitations of the format (44.1k sample rate or even 16 bit sample resolution). It's either truly awful mastering work or intentional volume war hype. (Or even intentionally degrading the CD version as happened when SACD was introduced with some of the dual layer SACD's with the redbook CD layer.)
For THOSE CD's... you could screw up just about everything. Use a USB turntable... screw up and set the capture to 16 bit. Screw up and use default settings with noise reduction and click repair and just mangle the poor thing. And you'd STILL have a shockingly better copy (ie closer to what the actual studio master sounded like) than the CD.
So there's that.
If you're going for a 'library of congress worthy' HD digital capture, get the proper equipment together so you benefit from the time spent working on it.
If this isn't so serious but you still think you'll get a better listening experience than the CD with just an OK job... you might be right! Go for it and have fun.
If you're hunting for the best copy of something but might not be set up for accurate vinyl playback, be sure to at least check out the various CD releases if there's no bluray or 24 bit download available. I hate to say it but a 320k mp3 from a decently mastered CD will wipe the floor with a vinyl transfer made on DJ equipment. If there's no "decently mastered CD" available... OK, then game on.
Some of you around here already HAVE 'library of congress worthy' vinyl setups!
For those of you that do, you only need a pair (or 4) of excellent AD converter channels. Get yourself a higher end audio interface with excellent AD channels and suddenly you're in the game for this.
How can you resist this?:
Too bad it doesn't play 33.33 RPM discs. I hear an upgrade is on the way from Lirpa Labs this April!
Too bad it doesn't play 33.33 RPM discs. I hear an upgrade is on the way from Lirpa Labs this April!
The56Kid
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Great info. Many moons ago I purchased iMic from Griffin for this same purpose. It let me connect the audio out (L/R) RCA jacks from my turntable to the input on Mic device, then the IMic connected to a USB 2.0 port on my Mac. It came with a program called FinalVinyl that was very useful in splitting up tacks, naming, etc. I think it also have the capability to remove cracks & pops, but that me be another accompanying program (or maybe me just dreaming). You could also hook up other audio devices, like electric guitars. I think I’ll dig this back out and try to get it working again.
I hope all this technical talk doesn't scare off folks who simply want to rip some vinyl. It doesn't have to be so complicated. It depends on what you want.
For those of us who have a stash of vinyl, that may not be perfect, yet want to have them in our digital library with little fuss...well. That was my original intent.
My way is far from perfect, but it brings me a heck of a lot of pleasure. The vinyl has flaws, with scratches, scrapes, etc. The way I described, can go a long ways toward having a handy copy of your vinyl, that (for the most part) is missing the glaring clicks and yet retaining the warm fidelity that many of us love.
There were comments about USB players being inferior. I don't know. The final product I get is far from inferior. I have no intention of comparing to a much higher dollar setup. That's not where I want to spend my money. It's like anything else. We can all rip apart the components, methods, call them inferior. But it all comes down to what we have, what we can afford and what we are willing to sacrifice.
I have just re-read this thread & thoroughly enjoyed it. As Gene said at the beginning this info is how he does vinyl ripping, not all inclusive. But a lot more has been included with posting comments. I look forward to seeing posts 6>10.
Mentioned in the original post is a link about how to rip vinyl if you don't have a USB turntable. It covers a lot of what Gene has said but from a slightly different angle it's worth reading even if you do have a USB TT:
Digitize Vinyl
I don't have quite the dedication jimfisheye has; I am not looking for "library of congress" quality. At some point you reach diminishing returns for cost & effort. However I totally agree with him that stepping up from a USB turntable will be well worth it. It's probably obvious that the audio chain of events in ripping analog LP's is only as good as its weakest link. If you are used to average to poor quality sound from a USB or low quality non-USB TT/cart then when you are digitizing you will have merely preserved that poor to average sound.
I have really dug looking at the various A>D capture devices mentioned here. At one time it seemed M Audio Delta 1010 LT was the way to go on the forum & partly because there wasn't much else (excepting the Delta 1010 that I have). I am lucky that my Anthem AVM30 puts out an AD through SPDIF & that's how I do it. It utilizes the well regarded AKM AK5383 convertor.
ClickRepir is fantastic! Most of my quad records have been played very little over the years & I always treated them well using Discwasher cleaning every time & treated with LAST record preservative. The surface noise is low but there are some ticks & pops. Records I've purchased used are even more prone to this. It's like magic to not hear it & no noticeable artifacts to me ears.
I don't have near the quad or even stereo collection that others have here. It has to be something I see myself listening to 10 years from now otherwise I'll just seek out the tunes for nostalgia sake on YouTube. And that goes for digital too. Except for Record Store Day I don't even think about buying new vinyl if it's available digital. I'm making a dedicated effort to make high quality rips of vinyl I anticipate I will want to listen to multiple times when I get the new SM V2. No wear, no tear!
Couple days ago, I decided it was time to rip some more vinyl I had acquired. Amazing how I had forgotten a few steps at first. But, after 10-12 minutes, I was back to remembering all I needed to do at the Audacity level. I totally forgot about this thread I had started. LOL!
The56Kid
2K Club - QQ Super Nova
I had a bunch of gear from Lirpa Labs.
W
What was your favorite?
The guy who helped me build my speakers and I used to constantly joke about Lirpa Labs. In the late eighties I sold computerized engraving equipment and made some brass engraved Lirpa Labs nameplates which appeared on various pieces of equipment both at his house and mine. When I first presented them to him it got an excellent laugh. Unfortunately along the way those plaques fell through the cracks. For those that may not know Lirpa is April backwards and Lirpa Labs was some piece of equipment in an April Fool's day review in Audio magazine. It would have had unobtainium specs.
their chief designer was Dr. Loof Lirpa who was supposedly from Finland also I Lirpa (april 1)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lir.....69i57j0l3.3946j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
So maybe my brain cells aren't all shot. I guessed that the first time I remembered Lirpa Labs was 1977.
to wit:Actual cover story at Audio magazine April 1977
Pages 60-67
their chief designer was Dr. Loof Lirpa who was supposedly from Finland also I Lirpa (april 1)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lir.....69i57j0l3.3946j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
So maybe my brain cells aren't all shot. I guessed that the first time I remembered Lirpa Labs was 1977.
to wit:Actual cover story at Audio magazine April 1977
Pages 60-67
Last edited:
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