analog to digital

If $1875 is within reason, you might also want to consider the Sound Devices 702. Their products are VERY highly regarded in professional sound recording applications. B&H, an excellent dealer, offers it for that price.

It accepts both mic level and line-level inputs, balanced or unbalanced. If you have a phono stage in one of your BAT units, or separately, which provides accessable line-level outputs, you could use the 702's line-level inputs. If not, you could go into the mic inputs (which I understand are extremely low noise), and do the RIAA equalization in software, as Herman describes.

The digitized signal is recorded to a Compact Flash card, which can be read either from the 702's firewire port, or by placing the card in an external card-reader.

HTH,
-- Al

Of course if you feed the cartridge outputs into mic-level inputs, you need to make sure that the cartridge sees a proper load. The Sound Devices 702's mic-level input impedance is 7.5K; I don't know about the RME unit. If the cartridge is a moving magnet type which wants to see 47K, that may be a problem. For a moving coil cartridge, the 7.5K could be reduced if need be by connecting an external resistor.

-- Al

MM into just about any pro unit will be a problem as they tend to have low input impedance, the RME is 2.7K I believe. Be sure to read the Pure Vinyl manual if you want to try this route.

I wonder if this is overkill for what I want to do. I just need two channels. Don't want to do any engineering. The BAT preamp has a phono section but the only output is for tape, and I use a moving magnet cartridge. I don't need the digital to analogue, as I have two DACs already. Is there a "non-pro" unit that will allow me to go from the turntable to itunes (and to label the music in itunes)? Is this an unusual need (just wondering why there are so many DACs and so few ADCs)?

With the BAT preamp having a phono stage and a tape output, you've got exactly what you need to provide an RIAA-equalized line-level signal to an a/d converter, or to a recorder that contains an a/d recorder. There are lots of choices, ranging from a little more than a hundred dollars on up into the multi-thousand dollar range.

For really good quality, I would still recommend the Sound Devices 702, but there are lots of much less expensive choices you can peruse at B&H's site here.

I've used a Marantz PMD670 ($630) with very good results, using its line-level inputs (its mic amplifiers leave something to be desired). Like the Sound Devices 702, it records to compact flash cards, from which the digitized files can be subsequently transferred to a computer. The Marantz unit has a usb interface, while the Sound Devices uses firewire. Or alternatively, the Compact Flash card can be removed and inserted into an inexpensive card reader which connects to the computer, typically via usb.

HTH,
-- Al