Recording from vinyl
Posted by: Steve O on 23 June 2017
Hi,
I'm looking into ways of transferring some of my vinyl collection into digital so I can load it onto a personal player and also maybe to archive, though this is a secondary consideration.
I recently discovered a shoe-box sized Denon CD Recorder in the loft I'd forgotten I had. It's a very basic unit with record levels and very little else. Virtually a cassette deck but recording onto CD rather than tape. It's from around 2002 ish so i guess there are far better options around now. I've thought of recording onto a hard drive but don't know where to start.
Ideally I just want to connect it to the main rig as you would a cassette recorder. Anyone got any recommendations of either a good recording unit or an alternative?
Thanks in anticipation of your helpful replies.
Regards,
Steve O.
Steve, the Marantz PMD 671 is probably closest to what you want, records up to 24bit 96kHz, and also mimics a 3 head deck by monitoring the either source or recording, although with the addition of one 3.5mm jack to RCA adaptor (Audioquest make a good one) then the PMD661 is just as good in performance but without the "off tape" recording monitoring. I use a 661 like a tape deck and it's so easy to use. Here's a picture of it sat on top of an actual tape deck (Denon DR-M44HX) so you can see how the Naim/Chord tape interconnect is connected.
The PMD671 is harder to find although you can still buy one new from some Pro audio suppliers, but at a cost. A better idea would probably be to buy a mint used or refurbished one (plenty in the US and Canada) for around £150-200.
Here's a picture of a 671 from the web so you can see the analogue RCA and XLR in/outs. The other side has coaxial RCA digital in/outs. You can actually have this one sat within a rack and useable.
I'm afraid I'm not such a fan of the Tascam machines, although the latest MkIII version of the DR100 may be worth a look. I do like the Marantz machines though - they aren't without their quirks or annoyances (they can be fussy over cards) but they feel good, are proper professional kit, are nicely made (in Japan), with excellent sound.
Steve, the Marantz PMD661 is a great bit of kit and easy to use and make great recordings. IIRC Richard Black reviewed it a few years back for Hifi Choice magazine and was really impressed, concluding that it made high quality recordings on a par with kit that would have cost thousands not that many years earlier.
I use a Chord Chrysalis 4 x RCA Phono to DIN5 interconnect. The single ended analogue output on the 661 is via a pair of RCAs (so a straightforward connection), however the single ended analogue input is on a 3.5mm stereo socket. For this I use an Audioquest 3.5mm to RCA adaptor (costs about a tenner and is of much better quality than the usual cheapies);
Eventually I may make up a custom interconnect with RCAs on the output and a 3.5mm jack on the input, but the above is working well without having to butcher anything or get out the soldering iron.
Anyway, the DIN5 end of the interconnect just connects into one of the tape loop in/outs on the 552.
Remember to set up your recordings for whatever resolution you desire - best available with the 661 is 24bit 96kHz WAV, which is probably ample for vinyl rips - and be careful to keep peaks just below 0dB on the recording levels.
I usually then import the resulting file into Audacity on a computer to make any necessary edits and to chop the file into individual tracks, then into dBpoweramp to add metadata, album art, recording notes etc..