Decent hardware solution to record vinyl to cds?

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
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My dad wants to record his vinyl to CDs. I know how to do it on the PC, but he's far from PC savy so that's not an option. Is there a decent all-in-one hardware solution?
 

cheesehead

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
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No. The ones I've seen are all pretty poor.

Thankfully, the proper way to do this is actually to take an old-fashioned turntable and connect it to an old-fashioned preamp, and plug the output into the line-in of the high quality soundcard of your choice. (An external M-audio card is preferable). This will result in far better recordings, and if your dad has a good turntable already, save money. Getting a really good solid-state pre-amp is important, though - using the one integrated into a stereo receiver is not ideal.

When I asked some pro audio guys about this, they noted that having a clean record is VERY important. One recommended DIY record cleaner formula was 50% distilled water and 50% Everclear. Also, make sure you've got a good phono cartridge, needle, et cetera.

 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
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I use my B&O 1900 turntable, my TCC-750 preamp and an Maudio fast track pro, recording into audacity. I have gotten some really great recordings.
 

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
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Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
How are the USB turntables?
http://www.usbturntables.net

Gemini DJ "quality" at best! :Q
Too heavy tracking, very cheap pickup, and often play speed errors (pitch) exceeding 50 cents is common - notably too fast playback. It's correctable once recorded but purists will believe when the needle flies through the grooves too fast there are other artifacts produced which are undesirable and still present after pitch compensation in the digital domain. Of course that's completely ignoring the issues with the very low grade cartridge. ;)
 

cheesehead

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
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Originally posted by: Rubycon
Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
How are the USB turntables?
http://www.usbturntables.net

Gemini DJ "quality" at best! :Q
Too heavy tracking, very cheap pickup, and often play speed errors (pitch) exceeding 50 cents is common - notably too fast playback. It's correctable once recorded but purists will believe when the needle flies through the grooves too fast there are other artifacts produced which are undesirable and still present after pitch compensation in the digital domain. Of course that's completely ignoring the issues with the very low grade cartridge. ;)

Yep.

NAD, on the other hand, has been making high quality stereo equipment longer than I've been alive. The preamp with USB ADC can't be too bad, costs less than half of the Hagtech product, and lets you use a proper turntable.