DIY HD Tracks from mint LPs?

Try it! Your imac will record at 24/96 at the audio input, digital optical, or spdif in. I googled: " imac sampling/bit rate, itunes " and found this info pretty quickly. Looks like the s/n ratio at the audio input is only 90db though.
I would just try it for a song or two and see. An rca stereo cable terminated in a 3.5 mm stereo phone plug is likely all you need to run from the pre-amp out to the audio in on the computer. I'm sure others members will have ideas re: dac's , software and such. I'm a bit out of my element there.

Yes, I use a Zoom H2 digital recorder. I take the output of my preamp and make a 24/96 wmv digital file and download to my computer. I then use Wavepad sound editor to remove clicks if any and adjust levels if necessary. You can then leave the file on your computer for playback or burn a redbook cd. Friends who have heard my digital copies say the sound is as good as the original lp's

There are a number of ADC options out there, at a number of price points. I'd look into options mentioned not just here, but also at Computer Audiophile, and Audio Asylum.

One example that has gotten some press lately: Furutech (GT-40, I think) has an ADC-DAC that has gotten good reviews for around $500 or so.

You'll need a good ADC (analog to digital converter) - either USB or firewire. Then some basic audio editing software (Audisy?) to break up the recorded record side into tracks. And you'll want to add tags to the tracks, if you store the files in a format that will accomodate tags (e.g. FLAC or AIFF).

While a good ADC setup can give you a HD digital file that mirrors your LP, keep in mind that, due to the process inherent in making vinyl records, your LP is already several mechanical generations away from the lacquer disc cut from the master tape.

That's one advantage a properly done digital studio transfer will have over yours - hopefully they played the original master tape straight into the ADC.

That said, if you like the way your LPs sound, with a bit of experimentation and practice, there is a good chance you'll be equally happy with your digital transfers.

Tape out or phono preamp out to analogue to digital converter to recording software on computer. I use an apogee duet usb. There is also an apogee duet firewire that is the older model. I use cd spin doctor to record. Pure vinyl is another choice.

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Pure Vinyl software and a good quality pro audio interface like an RME Fireface or Apogee would be a good way to go. The interface along with RIAA EQ in software would also function as the phono preamp and the DAC. You might just end up ditching the Pass phono stage.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Computer-Audio-Interfaces---Convertors-Computers---Peripherals,Show-All-Brands,New-Gear.gc

http://www.channld.com/purevinyl/

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Yes, I have had success doing this. I too have a huge vinyl collection that I won't or can't re-purchase.

You'll need three ingredients:

1) RME FireFace 800
2) Steinberg Wavelab 7
3) The book Mastering Audio, Second Edition: The art and the science by Bob Katz.

Regarding the audio-chain you listed, eliminate the preamp when you are recording. Go directly out of your phono stage into the RME. Does your phono stage have balanced outputs? Ideally, it does and you will connect those balanced outs to the natively balanced ins on the RME with a set of Mogami Gold Studio balanced cables.

This sounds like a great solution for me w/ out spending $600 or more on a inline recorder.

what cables are you using between preamp and Zoom?

I use a Korg MR2000S. It will record/archive your analog input in DSD at up to 1 bit/2.8 MHz or even 1 bit/5.6 MHz! The Audiogate software that comes with it can then covert down to FLAC at up to 24bit/192KHz, and also to WAV, ALAC (apple lossless), WMA, MP3, AAC, etc. at a variety of bit depths and sample rates.

The Audiogate software also lets you divide and combine files so you can record an entire LP side and then split the songs later, instead of having to push a button at the end of every song.

I've been doing this for the past few years, but only for LPs that are rare / out of print / not available via any other medium. As Mlsstl notes above, this is not that same as going from a master tape to digital as there are all the vinyl steps in this path. That said, some recordings, i.e., the Columbia 360 LPs, do sound incredible when captured this way. As Sevende suggests, take the output from your phono pre-amp directly into the input of your ADC. In my case I take the balanced outputs of my Xono pre-amp into an Apogee Rosetta 200 ADC / Symphony system. I use Peak software for capture but there are many good programs out there. And, as ART says, record entire sides at once and if you want separate tracks do that as a second step.

I find there is a different mindset to this than simply listening to LPs as you'll being creating (at some level) an "archival" copy. So, a few more suggestions:

1. Turntable setup becomes even more critical. As most capture programs provide some type of metering, by using a good analog test LP you should be able to confirm matched channel levels. More sofisticated metering, e.g., phase and spectrum displays will let you align things even more precisely. Of course, these must be confirmed with listening tests before you start recording!

2. Check the turntable speed right before you begin recording to ensure it's dead on.

3. Input level to the ADC is absolutely critical and will vary quite a bit from LP to LP. You'll want to set the input level as high as possible so that the very loudest passage on the LP does not hit clipping. Be careful not to confuse the loudest passage with a click or pop as these will peg the input meters.

4. Once levels are set and confirmed and you're ready to go give the LP one finally cleaning with your record cleaning machine. Also clean stylus before recording each side.

5. I record at 96KHz / 24 bit as you suggest. However, if you need to down convert a copy to burn to a CD or for iDevices, than I recommend you convert from 24 bit to 16 bit FIRST and then do the sample rate conversion to 44.1 KHz. This is counter intuitive but, to my amazement, many listening tests support this workflow.

6. Even the cleanest LPs will have a few pops and clicks when you capture them. NEVER use any of the automatic click removal / noise reduction programs to get rid of them! As good as some of these have become, they're still not good enough -- they all leave artifacts, e.g. robing the air from around the notes. If the pops and clicks bother you then go in and paint each one out of the waveforms by hand.

7. If you want separate tracks create them after you've done the above.

8. Be prepared to spend a lot of time doing this. Having spent over a year getting every aligned correctly and sounding it's best, I find it now takes me 4 to 6 hours per LP.

Have fun!
Dean

I recall reading somewhere to put the turntable/cartridge output directly into the mic input on the computer, bypassing phono preamp completely. Add RIAA compensation later or whatever curve works besr for you. Takes special program? I have not tried this yet but appeals to me as my phono pre is only so-so. Good luck to you on this project and let us know what you learn; Mike.