Digitizing LPs


I know this is an analog section, but I thought perhaps folks with a analog LPs might know more about this so I’ll ask if anyone has expertise in copying/digitizing LPs, the software needed, the equipment needed. And maybe most importantly, how tough is this job to do and get good results?? I don’t want to create CDs, I just want to send a copy of each to hard drives so I can stream them. I am digitizing my CDs too.

I should say I have a good start on it, a Windows 7 Desktop with attached Musical Fidelity Preamp with phono stage, Adcom amp, Spendor speakers, and ASUS Xonar Essence STX soundcard, and a choice of turntables. Still, I know I’ll need another piece of gear. Is that a USB DAC? If so, how good does this have to be? Or put another way, do I need to spend a lot of money on this?
echolane

Showing 2 responses by bondmanp

I am in the same boat as the OP.  For 12 years, I have been slowly digitizing my LPs, about 3 or 4 per week.  Until recently, the process was:  Clean the LP > Record it to CD-R using a Marantz pro-sumer CD recorder, inserting track splits on the fly with the remote control (and often missing the right moment) > Rip the CD-R to my server.  Obviously this is limited to 16/44.  Six months ago, I got my Sweetvinyl Sugarcube SC-2.  This reduces the clicks and pops, as well as digitizes the signal up to 24/192.  However, as the software is still in development, it will not yet split tracks or send the digitized files to a server over a home network.  The recordings land on an attached USB thumb drive.  From there, you can load it onto a server, but you will have to tag and split the tracks somehow.  Tagging I can do, although manual tagging is a PITA - I do it whenever dBPoweramp can't find the metadata of a digitized LP.  Track splitting I lack the software to do.  So I am impatiently waiting for the Sweetvinyl team to implement track splitting, which is promised.

Having heard dgarretson's digitized DSD files, I can vouch that they are nearly indistinguishable from the original LP.  That said, dgarretson is also somewhat of a technical wiz, and knows how to put this stuff together and make it work well.  I lack the time and knowledge for this sort of thing, so the Sugarcube is the answer for me, assuming they eventually deliver all the functionality they have promised.
@dtc - You, know, I forgot that Vinyl Studio also is available for Windows.  I may try it as an interim fix until the SUgarcube can do track splitting.  Thanks.