Digitising LP's

You'll need an ADC - analog to digital convertor.  There are essentially two options; the first is a Firewire or USB ADC/DAC, where you combine this with your computer and some software such as Audacity or Audiogate.  The very best ADCs tend to be pro units and very costly. They also tend to come with pro studio connections such as balanced connections, which can be tricky to integrate into a Naim system.  However, I have used a Terratec 6DMX 24/192 USB ADC from Germany with very good results and these can be bought for under £300.  It also comes with domestic connections such as gold plated RCAs, so easy to integrate into a domestic hifi system.

The second option is to use a digital recorder.  These come either as rack mount studio units or as portables with the addition of in built microphones and have in-built ADCs and DACs.  The best of the latter can be very, very good indeed and offer good pre-amp stages, quiet line in/outs and recording up to DSD or 24bit 192kHz level.  I can highly recommend the Sony PCM-M10, as well as its bigger brother the PCM-D50, which has just been replaced by the latest PCM-D100.  The PCM-M10 has the advantage of smallest size and lowest cost but performance via the line level inputs is almost indistinguishable from it's bigger brother.  However, resolution tops out at 24bit 96kHz, which is probably high enough for most, but if you wish to go further then the PCM-D100 reputedly offers the quietest pre-amp stage of all as well as DS and 24bit 192kHz capability.  The other unit I can recommend is the Korg MR2, which also offers DSD recording and 24bit 192khz  capability.  It is slightly more affordable than the Sony PCM-D100.  IIRC there are a couple of members on here using the MR2.

I recently made some 24/96 recordings on my PCM-M10 connected up to the main Naim system using a Chord Chrysalis 2 x 3.5mm to DIN5 interconnect.  The results were quite stunning considering the tiny size of the recorder.  If you don't wish to mess about with computers and software it's a really simple way to make very high quality digital recordings, so definitely a viable option.  Only question is, what's the budget?

Thanks for the reply I'm thinking in terms of a USB interface and looked at units by Focusrite, Roland etc. I would prefer to use this option instead of a recorder. Budget wise I'm thinking of under £1K for the interface.

Then you have quite a few options available to you.  Are you on a MAC or a Windows machine?  If the former then definitely look at the Apogee duet.  Main issue to be careful of is latency - is your computer up to the task?  Many notebook computers are no good here.  However, I have run the Terratec with both a Pentium Core2 Duo Vaio and Toshiba Tecra laptops with no latency issues. 

I tend to think you'll be better off with a digital recorder. I've got a Tascam which records very well at 24/96, which I suspect is all you really need for a really good result. I then use Audacity to divide the recordings up. They're really good quality, but maybe it's me but unless your vinyl is unobtainable on another medium I'd personally just buy the CD or equivalent download. Else it's a bit if a fag.

I have a variety of PC's available namely i7 and i5 so hopefully latency shouldn't be an issue.

Many thanks for your help and advice

How many LP's to digitise?  Better to spend the £1k on buying them on Cd.

Tried digitising LP's and gave up because of the effort needed, the sound quality was fine but it was the time needed.  You have to  Record from the LP in real time,   then edit to put track info in as it will record all of one side as one file  and then filter if needed for clicks/scratches etc.  Finally Produce an inlay card.  For one LP you will need 1-1 1/2 hrs time.  I found i could get almost all the LP's i wanted to record as Cd's for £3-5 .

It is only worth doing for any LP's that are rare or currently unavaiable on Cd.

Steve

I dabbled with this idea a few years ago, and soon reached the conclusion that buying the albums I really wanted on CD or download was going to be a great deal cheaper and quicker. I'm not saying it wouldn't be an interesting project if you have the time and patience to do it, but from a practical point of view, I wouldn't bother.

I find it useful for pre-recorded reel tapes - age and use does them no favours.  Also it's useful on LPs where the digital issues are below par, not sounding anywhere near as good as the original vinyl, either because the original tapes have degraded, or been lost, or the mastering has been poor, or a combination of all these.

I have used two A to D convertors that are fairly easy to use with Mac and set up for the non-professional recording engineer.  Benchmark ADC1 USB, which is still available; and Ayre Acoustics QA-9, which is no longer produced.  Both have XLR inputs but RCA to XLR adaptors work.  You just need a 5 pin DIN to RCA tape out cable and connect to the tape loop of the 72.  I use Vinyl Studio on the Mac.  If there are two tape loops on the 72 then hook up a headphone amp for monitoring also.  You just have to remember that digital recording is not like analog regarding signal level.  There is a lot to read about this.  Most experts tend to recommend 96/24 and have your peaks set at -6 dB not 0.  You can then normalize the final file and increase the volume.  If you set your levels to 0 then digital clipping will occur.  As the others have said recording occurs in real time so this is not a fast process but I feel that my 96/24 copies of LP's are usually better than CD's.  Also I do little if any "clean-up" with pop/click removal; I like the vinyl ambiance.  Mostly I do this to share music via CD with my father who no longer has a turntable but still appreciates the analog sound. 

I use a 2008 MacbookPro which links directly through the line in jack. The software is a very cheap but effective programme that used to be bundled with Roxio toast, the CD burning application. CD Spin Doctor is so much quicker and easier to use than Audacity. 

ChrisSU posted:

I dabbled with this idea a few years ago, and soon reached the conclusion that buying the albums I really wanted on CD or download was going to be a great deal cheaper and quicker. I'm not saying it wouldn't be an interesting project if you have the time and patience to do it, but from a practical point of view, I wouldn't bother.

+ 1

I have about five irreplaceable vinyl specimens.  Pressing forward with a Focusrite 2i4 into Mac Mini with Audacity.

Wish me luck!

Nick

"TerryThomas Discovers America" is one.  Hi-fi critical, no; beloved, indeed.

The Apogee Mini-Me is a very good ADC. Now discontinued, it crops up on a well-known auction site for £3-500. It has wide range trimmable inputs with USB & SPDIF outputs at up to 24/96. It would need a phono preamp for RIAA equalisation, and a suitable adaptor cable for its XLR and jack inputs.

the ultimate for domestic use, possibly, and not out yet, might be the Chord Davina. Perfect if combined with Dave DAC because the filters will predisely match - however given the price of Dave I imagine Davina will be quite a few £1000 - but that may be worth it for someone with top-flight vinyl gear and large pristine record collection.

ChrisSU posted:

I dabbled with this idea a few years ago, and soon reached the conclusion that buying the albums I really wanted on CD or download was going to be a great deal cheaper and quicker. I'm not saying it wouldn't be an interesting project if you have the time and patience to do it, but from a practical point of view, I wouldn't bother.

Personally I found it a very worthwhile exercise as it led me to play every single LP, which I did and listened to, including some I hadn't played for a very long time, also providing the opportunity to assess whether I still liked and wanted to keep them - the answer was yes for the vast majority - and in a few cases decide that they had deteriorated to such an extent that I would indeed be better buying the CD.

It is also possible to clean up some unwanted noises, worthwhile especially for irreplaceable vinyl (I can go into more detail if wanted).