2. pc-audio
  3. 1417856497

PC audio newbie looking for advice

I'm just throwing this out there and I will greatly appreciate any help, knowledge, or tips I can get regarding the process of recording my vinyl and CDs to a hard drive.

Ultimately what I am looking for is this:

1) A tablet and/or smart phone interface ( I might be OK with small IR hardware for home but hopefully not)
2) Easy, smart, software for this interface (I've read MediaMonkey is good)
3) An easy, software solution for the adc process (I've read that VinylStudio is easy and effective)
4) Since memory is cheap I want to keep WAV, or maybe lossless, files on a standalone hard drive(s) for home audio playback. I might also convert these to mp3 for use on a smart phone to play in the car, etc.
5) I have a nice 17" Toshiba laptop (windows 7) and want to use it for the front end in the adc process if I can. My phone is the only Apple product I've ever had, an iPhone 5s because it's slim and small compared to other phones. I do not own a tablet currently but a dedicated convertable for the sound system is appealing. I am not inclined to go the media player route.

Over time I've put together a decent rig for critical listening and I am thinking that now I would like to convert my vinyl and CD's (about 500 units all told) to hard drive for convenience and portability. Some of the answers to some of my questions are probably on the forums somewhere but they can be difficult to hunt down. I can handle technical if necessary but I prefer easy, elegant and low maintenance solutions. I've got an idea of most of the parts and pieces I will need but I haven't wrapped my head around the process as a whole from end to end. I am not willing to spend forever and a pot of gold to gain a few percent, and basically I am looking to reduce my stumbling around in the dark as much as I can. Thanks in advance for your time and patience.

My home audio rig consists of a primary system in a critical listening / video room which shares some sources with a lesser secondary system that takes sound everywhere else in the house and yard via an effective 12 channel mid fi amp and low tech, hard wired, 12/4 & 14/4 wall rated speaker cable all over the place whole house sound system. I am not inclined to go Sonos or equal because my speakers and sound are superior and the sound is the thing above all.

FWIW

Primary rig
-----------
Cary SLP98p F1
Cary CAD 500 MB (2)
Cerious Technologies React 2
Esoteric P-700
Cary Xciter DAC
ProJect PerspecX
Parasound T-3
Samsung whatever 3D Blueray player
Samsung 58" Plasma 3DHD TV
APC H15
HRT Linestreamer plus
I am considering replacing the Samsung blueray, Esoteric, and Cary Xciter with an Oppo 105. The Esoteric is a great unit though. Yes I like to turn it up a bit at times.

Secondary rig
-------------
Sansui AU-317 (preamp only)
Dayton Audio MA 1240
Yamaha 5 disc CD changer
Sansui TU-317
Cerious Technologies Cerious 7
Quad 12L2 (2)
Asperion Outdoor
DCM Time Windows
Pioneer HPM 100

Power, interconnect, and speakers cables are a combination of Cerious Technologies, SoundSilver, and custom.
silversurfer0116

Showing 3 responses by lewinskih01

lewinskih01
907 posts
 
I'm 100% computer based these days and can't comment on the ADC itself. However, in my DAC search I came across the Lynx Hilo, which also has ADC. Lynx is a pro gear company. The Hilo has good user reviews, and professional reviews. I believe there is a note on their website about digitalizing vinyl. I also recall someone on computeraudiophile.com used this unit for the same purpose you are exploring.

Good luck!
lewinskih01
907 posts
 
Check out computeraudiophile.com, as it is focused on...computer audio...obviously.

There is a Guide to Ripping CDs. It focuses on dBpoweramp. Finding the right settings is not necessarily intuitive, but I followed that guide to a t thE first time, and never had to re-set the settings.

There is also a guide to Setting up JRiver. I think it was written back at the time of JRiver 17. Even though we are now on JRiver 20 version, the basics still apply. Again, it is handy to get to the critical settings quickly.

There might be a guide for ripping vinyl too...don't know.

I think JRiver is a good place to start. jRemote works great (my server is headless so this is critical), and Jriver itself is good. I believe certain combinations of DAC/playback software/format of the music to be played/type of server used sound better than others so it gets slippery pretty fast if one shoots for "the best sound", but I would leave that for later.

HQPlayer is also a good playback software. Has a lot less features than JRiver, but for audio playback it is just fine. It needs a computer with a screen, though, so no JRemote-type options. You also cannot pick songs from different albums as easily as with JRiver. But if you just select a whole album and play it, it works very well. Some claim it sounds better than JRiver. I didn't try it with PCM material (CDs), but tried it with DSD into a capable DAC and indeed it sounded better than JRiver. Yet I opted to stay with the latter due to the human interface.
lewinskih01
907 posts
 
Ripping CDs only makes things simpler than digitizing vinyl. A computer plus a asynch USB DAC is all you need. However, not all such combinations are made equal.

I've been amazed with the improvement in sound I had by moving to Windows Server 2012 and running the AudioOptimizer and playing back with JRiver. Building a custom and dedicated computer helps too, but takes a lot more time and money. And that computer can be tweaked ad nauseum, but again I wouldn't recommend starting there. I would do a laptop, or any other PC you have available to run in dedicated fashion, install WS2012 and the Optimizer. Ws2012 trial is free, and the Optimizer is €100 or so.

What are you planning to do as far as DAC goes? Not familiar with your DAC, but asuming it doesn't have asynch USB I would buy a used Audiophilleo or other USB-to-SPDIF converter and plug it into the Cary DAC. That would get you set up to get acquainted with computer audio. Then decide if it's worth for you digging deeper.

That's what I would suggest. Hope it helps!
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