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Digitizing LPs: General advice wanted

Hi everyone,
I will soon set out to digitize a LOT of LPs.
And given the extensive labor that will involved, I DESPERATELY want to do it right the FIRST time :-).
btw, I am solely concerned with the recording process, as playback issues may always be addressed later.

At this point, I only know that I want to record at a minimum of 24/96 with a PLANAR 3 turntable.

As everything else is undetermined, I am looking for some general advice.
I.E.:
Should I use a PC or an digital recorder ?
If a PC, should I use an INTERNAL sound card or a USB sound card (so as to minimize RF nose) ?
If a digital-recorder, are there any that will record at 24/96 ?
And can they easily share files with a PC (for use with editing software, etc) ?

Any other advice, pitfals, or experiences to share ?

Many thanks for any advice you may offer :-).
captainbeyond

Showing 2 responses by garfish

garfish
1,840 posts
 
I was posting at the same time as Dopogue. I agree with his advice. I also considered the TASCAM pro machine-- the Marantz was $675. from BSW in Tacoma, WA. And he's right on about how tedious the recording process is when going from LP to CD. Cheers. Craig
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Hi Captain and Scott; Yep I own and like the Marantz Pro CDR500, and consider that the easiest way to record LPs, but then I've never used a computer "burner".

As far as I know, there is no recorder that records at 24/96, as there is no player that outputs a 24/96 digital signal. Will computer DVD burners record at 24/96 or 192? I don't think so. So, what you really need is a CD recorder that has an excellent analog to digital to converter.

Several months ago, M. Fremer of Stereophile Magazine compared 3 "consumer grade" CD recorders and found that they all made very good digital to digital copies, but the most expensive one was the only one that did well going from analog to digital (I believe it was a more expensive Denon that Fremer thought did AD conversion quite well-- you might want to look for this review as M. Fremer is a big analog guy).

For your purposes, the key(s) will be the quality of the Analog to Digital converter (in the CD recorder) , ie from your TT (analog) to the CD burner (digital) and the connectors/cable. If you get a CD-Recorder with a good AD converter you should be happy with the results as you'll still have "ticks and pops" to keep you smiling;>). Good Luck. Craig
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