2. analog
  3. 150228-4294

Digitizing Vinyl; Suggestions Please

I’m moving out of country and will be selling my vinyl, about 300 discs
So I want to digitize them, then sell them prior to leaving the US .....

TT-Arm-Cart: VPI Scoutmaster II, VPI JMW 10.5i tonearm, Classic 3 Headshell, Ortofon Quintet MC Black
Phono cable: Furutech Ag 12, 1.2m ----> into a
Phono PreAmp: Manley Chinook Phono (4 Tubes) --> into
----> Shunyata Zitron Cobra ICs. ----> Aesthetix Calypso - (4 tubes).

I don’t own/run any recording software on my Mac at home since I live off-grid with no wifi or cell.
Ive always wanted to use the Pure Vinyl Vinyl App to record, but I don’t want to invest in it now.
I guess I do have JRiver, but really haven't used it since my computer was stolen 6 mo ago. 

I’m just looking for a simple and easy way to digitize . That said, I have a Sony PCM D100 portable audio recorder that also has an ADC. The ADC recording is a bit flat to my ears, so I want to make sure it records some of the tube qualities that I like- rich tones, ripe bass, airy top end.

Right now Im experimenting with using the Sony to record. Ive tried two methods so far to check for SQ.
1. Recording right out of the Chinook Phono Pre with an IC having 2 RCA terminations on one end and 1/8’ term on other end.
2. Allowing the signal to run into the Calypso PreAmp, then recording out of the "Tape Out"

--> The 1/8" end plugs into the Sony. Records in 2.8 DSD and 24/192 and its derivatives
The 2 RCA- 1/8" IC was made by Belkin. It is good, but not up to par with the VPI and Chinook.

So I decided to buy the Nordost Heimdall 2 likable IC in the same configuration.
It was a ridiculous price, but it appears head and shoulders above the competition.

Any suggestions so far?

Last, Im looking for an audio editing App mainly to cut up the songs, add track marks and song names, maybe take some distortion out if I can, If it is relatively easy to correct.

E.g. the SQ from my 2 different recording methods above are slightly different.
There is actually more "vinyl hiss distortion" when recording out of the Chinook than the Calypso.
But recording out of the Calypso covers up the hiss with a sound that is tube-like,
but not always better than recording right out of the Chinook. Following me??? LOL>

Ok, thanks for your input!


128x1281graber2
lp2cd
101 posts
 
If you manage to sell the LPs, by far the best suggestion here is to then purchase CDs of the same music. First, as many others have noted, digitizing hundreds of LPs will take a ridiculous amount of time, effort, and, to do it at all well, money. The kit in my pro-quailty LP to CD transcription and mastering studio runs close to $30,000 all totaled. Unless the LPs are truly rare and have never been released on CD, it’s not worth it.

Second, and this is important, it is neither legal NOR ethical to make a copy of any recording in ANY format and then dispose of the original recording. That original recording is your license to own a copy under copyright and fair use laws. It’s not likely that you’ll ever go to jail for a violation, but you WILL be ripping off the artist and others. Think about it, then buy a CD instead, and KEEP it. Ripping a CD then disposing of it is just as bad.
lastperfectdaymusic's avatar
lastperfectdaymusic
48 posts
 
Wow what a lot of effort just to change 250 hours of music from one format to another one, and as one member mentioned, with a slight loss in quality and then to loose all of those nice album covers. Then you have to sell all the analogue stuff! 
Africa is not all that third world, we have electricity and water, and mud walls are an excellent sound absorbent, just joking!
Pack your analogue treasure and bring it along. 
tkr
100 posts
 
@1graber2
Re: Metric Halo ULN 8
This might be a little OT here in the analog forum, but why don`t you simply buy the MH ULN 8 and sell your other stuff instead? The conversion is great, and I use mine as DAC/ADC/Pre, among other things. It has headphone outs as well, so all you would need is a set of active speakers and a Mac.
1graber2's avatar
1graber2 OP
303 posts
 
@lp2cd 
Interesting to hear that most people just buy CDs, when buying and listening to vinyl - the whole point was to NOT have to listen to the quirks and just plain bad recordings on CDs with the loudness wars, etc. 

I have a lot of 70s albums- first pressings. IOWs, its the gold standard of recording: straight from the original tape to vinyl. And what of my 45 LPM MOFI collection? There are no suitable CD replacements, not even close, not even the SACDs put out by the same producer- MoFi get close to the detail and balance of the 45 12" albums. 

But I hear what you are suggesting, and that is what I asked for, suggestions. At this point, I still want to transpose some vinyl, but otherwiseI can use CDs, downloads, or Tidal will fill in the music from selling the LPs. 
Don't get me wrong, I love the big artwork of the vinyl as well, but I don't have storage here, and I don't know when I will return to the states. 

Thats why- @tkr - the Metric Halo will not work for me. But I agree, its an awesome piece of kit, and if I was landlocked in the states, I would seriously be considering it. 

And- @lastdayperfectmusic - "mud walls are an excellent sound absorbent"- LOL, but only if it is audiophile mud!!!!
lp2cd
101 posts
 
@1grabber2
OK, you’ve obviously got some exceptional LPs there. And certainly many historical recording have been trashed for several reasons, not only as a result of the "loudness war," in the remastering for CD. But transcribing and converting those LPs to digital and retaining their quality will be a very real challenge. Without top quality software and gear, and lots of experience, you may very well go to a lot of time and effort and be disappointed.

The most critical step is the initial playback and, especially, the ADC. Any distortion or ADC jitter becomes hard-coded into the digital file and is difficult or impossible to remove. Jitter in the ADC is particularly insidious because it can’t be removed and will often be increased with every processing algorithm applied to the digital file. Jittery ADC was the unrecognized bane of digital for the first 25+ years of digital sound recording and mastering. The current generation of ADCs has at last all but eliminated it.

For what you want to do, if you decide to do it, a used Mytec Stereo96 ADC should work just fine for LP to digital conversions. It’s studio quality, has low enough jitter that it’s not much of an issue, and a used one can be had on eBay for ±$600. Beyond that, Audacity may be sufficient as a digital audio workstation/editor (DAW), but I’ve never worked with it. I use Adobe Audition with several add-ins by iZotope & others along with 20+ years experience. Expensive and a big learning curve.

But in any case, for those collector LPs, try to find someone who can store them for you. You’re unlikely to get anything like their value reselling them, and certainly won’t if you sell them as a lot to a dealer. Moreover, as I noted before, those LPs are your license to have a digital copy of them. So good luck; you just never know.
More to discover