ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Yeah, that's true - that does look more like a late-'50s or early '60s bikini.  I assume it's an altered still from some old beach/surfing/monster movie but have been unable to find which one.  Dave probably knows the make and year of that turntable.

 Proclivities wrote: 
I think the turntable's older than the bikini.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
It sorta looks like a cross between him and Larry Bird.  I think it's older than that, judging by that turntable.

 Proclivities wrote: 
Izzat Ed Begley, Jr.?

Such a nice guy.

Hi,
This is a bit late to the party here but I thought I'd do a quick shout out re useful software and links to the process of ripping vinyl to digital - as you may know this can be a very time consuming process if you want to get good results.  First a couple of links to the work done by others:

1) Converting Analog Vinyl to Digital using a MAC - fwiw I'm a Linux/PC guy myself, but a lot of the info here is generic and at least one process (using Vinyl Studio) is also available on Windows. The author (mitchco) has done a great job explaining the steps to get real audiophile quality rips from your vinyl and even has links that allow readers to compare their rips with HD Tracks versions. See http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/503-guide-converting-analog-vinyl-digital-files-using-macintosh/ for details.

Note: I just found a Windows specific version of this article here - http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/486-guide-converting-analog-vinyl-digital-files-using-windows/

2) Another excellent 'how to' re digitizing your vinyl collection. See http://birdhouse.org/blog/2011/02/20/digitizing-lps/
Lots of good, practical and step by step advice on how to accomplish this task (from decisions re what to rip vs buy on CD, cleaning procedures, music formats, equipment requirements and the ripping process in detail - including post rip click/noise removal).

I like his suggestion to ignore tools such as Audacity, Garage Band etc as one of the most time consuming part of the process is entering the catalog info for each album by hand - truly a waste of time. Products such as Vinyl Studio are designed to assist in the process and support access to the MusicBrainz and Discogs databases - so you don't have to enter this info manually. Remember that your goal is to do this once only as it is very time consuming).

3) Some tools that might help:

a) Cleaning Vinyl - try the 'Spin Clean' kit and the AudioQuest brush  - for < $100

b) As mentioned above be sure to get a copy of Vinyl Studio (for $30) but you can get a demo version for free from their site, See http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/VinylStudio/home.aspx. This will save you the hassle of entering album/artist/title info for your albums and will also help rip the vinyl to the format of your choice - IMHO you should choose FLAC or high quality OGG format (forget mp3 as it's a lossy/compressed format). (You can always convert from FLAC/OGG to mp3 later if you need to).

Hope this helps someone - I just started ripping my own vinyl - primarily old records that will never make it to CD - so thought I'd like to pass on some ideas to others.

Patrick

I prefer using a high quality RIAA preamp such as an PS Audio 4.6 and run it into a E-Mu 0404 usb DAC which is 24 bit/192. I rip at full res and keep that file to work from and from there make it whatever res I need later.
I like to get the best fidelity I can and as you have to do it in real time this way I don't have to do it again later.

 mend0dad wrote: 

Yep you need the RIAA EQ first.

Audacity is excellent.  If you want to get jiggy and spend a little money ...

Magix is great.  I use their stuff.  Older programs (2006) but I love it and for the money spent its a good deal.

Phono preamp.  Has the RIAA EQ.  Very versatile.  Will handle phono's and anything with RCA line outs.  Will run off of USB power so there is absolutley no hum, feedback or ground loop problems.  spdif out.  Have mine for 6 years. love it.  Has a gain control so it will handle both types of cartridges , mm and mc.  16 bit, but what the hey ... rugged, reliable, portable ...

 mend0dad wrote: 
I use the filter that comes with Audacity which is also great for doing the rip. Its free and works on Macs and PC's, The filters aggressiveness and duration are adjustable and it works quite well.

So what you guys are saying is the phono inputs paths in the older analog world were EQ'd on the RIAA curve and need to at least have that RIAA EQ added to the signal before I rip it and I should then find a well balanced sound at that point...  I believe I've run across such a feature, I've just got to go back and find it again.  Would you guys also have a good scratch & pop filter to recommend.  I'm not too happy with the Microsoft provided one on their media player.

Thanks for your responses...

Mend0dad

 mend0dad wrote: 

Without a phono preamp somewhere between your turntable and computer you are spinning your wheels.  If you are going to do some serious ripping there are some decent outboard preamps that convert to USB for under $100.

Or as dave said below, run it through your receiver via tape out to your puter, and do not EQ or add effects until after you have ripped.

 mend0dad wrote: 
Lp's were cut using the "RIAA" eq curve that has multiple turnover points so they should be played back using an RIAA phono preamp. Using a mic input doesn't provide any eq if thats how you are doing it. There is also a software alternative that adds the RIAA eq but I don't don't know of any free ones. You could always get a separate phono preamp or an old receiver with a phono input and run the tape out to the computers line in.

When ripping LP’s, what EQ settings would be good to start off with?  It seems the few times I’ve done it so far, it comes out basically sounding tinny… Ok, so when I back off the high end some, then some more on the next try, it still sounds lacking and certainly not pleasing to my ear.  Ultimately I end up chasing around the audio spectrum for hours and getting nowhere.  Any suggestions out there?

 DaveInVA wrote: 

I'm using XP.  I almost always have the output volume maxed and do use the receiver for volume control.

I'm hitting the road soon for the rest of the day.  I'll check out this function later and get back iffen I have any troubles with this function.

 kurtster wrote: 
First it depends on what OS you are using. XP is the last to have it and VISTA etc uses WASAPI but it does basically the same thing and can also be bypassed the same way. Bypassing the kmixer doesn'y bypass the sound card. The kmixer is a built in part of WDM Audio to help helps mix multiple audio streams, sample rate conversion and speaker and channel mapping so driver designers don't have to deal with it.  Just having the kmixer in use causes at least 30ms of latency and can cause the audio to not be "bit perfect" in some cases. The XP version of Winamp uses "DirectSound" to bypass the kmixer. You should also always leave the PC volume at 100% (or bypass it altogether) and use your preamp/amp to vary the volume.

 DaveInVA wrote: 

Just went to the add a file drop down and copied the url from my winamp entry and pasted it in.  Piece of cake.  Listening now.

Again the difference is tremendous.  Don't know if I want to get into bypassing the k mixer.  I'm taking the signal out of the puter through the optical output into the receiver's optical in.  Theoretically I'm bypassing the soundcard all together doing this ?

Will I hear the difference by bypassing the k mixer ?  Is this opening a can of worms ?  I'm very happy with the results so far.  This is a very intuitive device.