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!


1graber2

Showing 2 responses by lp2cd

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.
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.
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