Rip LP's to Digital

Can you list your system?

It's not an expensive system.

Kenwood M1 Amp, Kenwood C1 Preamp, Kenwood KD550 TT w/Lynn Basic Arm - needs new cartridge, Pair Dayton Wright LCM-1 speakers.

I'm wondering if doing cap and other component upgrades to the M1 and C1 (as I've seen on line) is worth it or not. I used to be a tech so the soldering is no problem. I'm guessing those into high end gear look at this as junk but it serves the purpose for now. Not everyone has thousands to spend on stereo components although it might be nice.

Thanks for any input.

Gorquin - if you want "really affordable" and reasonable resolution (i.e. 16/44), take a look at the Behringer UCA222 - I believe it comes with software also.

I have one and for ripping albums I find it perfect, since most of the albums I want to rip are the older ones that have the pops and cracks, so higher resolution is not really one of my requirements.

Amazon or E-bay is your best bet - although I picked on up from a local musical instrument store for only $32cdn - a bargain.

I was very supprised at just how good it performed, but then Behringer does make some very good mixers.

It does respond very nicely if good quality cables are used.

Regards...

If you are just looking to make CD's and MP-3's for your ipod, the solution is very simple. All you need to buy is a traditional component type CD burner. You would connect it to the tape input and tape loop on your C1, and it will work just like a cassette deck. Going this route will allow you to digitize your vinyl without touching a computer. Then, to make MP-3's for your ipod, you already have everything you need. You take the CD's that you made from your records, put them into the CD/DVD rom drive on your computer, and just use itunes to rip/import them.

I'm sure you can get a really good deal on a CD burner from Craigslist or Ebay. Probably less than $100. That and some blank CD's are all you need.

Thanks for your responses. The simple route I know. I'd like to use software because I do have some older material that I'd like to digitize and take the pops and clicks out of.

It was suggested to me that an E-Mu 0404 or 1212m both would do a nice job and was wondering what else is available that won't break the bank.

I now use CD's and an iPod in the car and Home and need to set up my TT to go that route as well. All of my iPod recordings are lossless. Eventually I'd like to leave the Apple products to a step up. I download very little from iTunes because I think the sound is inferior and would prefer, when I can, to support products Made in America.

So while I'm not in the Audio buff range I'd like the LP transfers to sound a bit better than they would with a straight transfer from LP to CD with zero processing.

More suggestions? :>)

"Thanks for your responses. The simple route I know. I'd like to use software because I do have some older material that I'd like to digitize and take the pops and clicks out of."

It really doesn't matter. Once you burn the CD, your music is digital and you can further process it however you wish. Just rip the CD to your hard drive.

If you're on a tight budget, here's a useful link for you. From this page you can download a self contained OS filled with free, open source software for AV creation and manipulation. All you need to do is download the file and burn it to a DVD. The whole thing runs directly from the DVD and does nothing to alter your hard drive with Windows. When you're done using it, reboot the PC and remove the DVD, and you'll go right back to Windows. There should be software on this DVD to do anything you could ever think of.

http://distrowatch.com/?newsid=08912

I am not prepared to enter the debate as to approaches to A to D conversion, I have played with a A to D converter with software and found it to be easy to do however don’t know what might be best in that approach. I think i might be interested in the hardware approach as mentioned by ZD.

No need to apologize for your system, I believe it represents a very well thought out budget high end system from the early 80’s. Given that you are going to do the work yourself I would think your servicing would provide a quality sonic return on your investment in time and $.

Enjoy!

You should look at some of the handheld recorders, like those from Tascam. They are generally used for portable recording using their built in mics, but they also have a line input. You just take line level outputs from your preamp. The entry level Tascam DR-05 is a good entry level one that goes up to 96 KHz sampling rate. It has a micro SD card that you can use for transferring the file to the PC.

Vinyl Studio is the way to go (imo) for breaking up the file into tracks, tagging them, and doing cleanup. It lets you do hum and hiss removal and will do click and pop removal.

There is a thread on CA where the poster ended up using the DR-05 and Vinyl Studio and he is quite happy with it.

Inexpensive Vinyl Ripping

Sweetwaters is a good place to look at multiple inexpensive A to D converters.

Don't. The time spent and the quality of the sound, no matter what the converter and software, will disappoint. The conversion process is time intensive, better you just buy used Cd's of your favorite albums, and spend time just enjoying the music, not the gear.

Buconero, after trying LP conversion the used CD approach is what i have taken. Download a used CD copy on my computer used the CD in my car, or better yet, make playlists and burn them for my car. Far less time consuming.

Yes there are opinions on both sides of the fence on this.
Some say ripping an LP to software allows one to eliminate pops, clicks, hum and preserve dynamics not heard on a CD because of compression etc. while others say a remastered CD of old material will outperform an lP transfer.

The problem is that some LP's I have were never released on CD.

Thank you for the suggestions so far.

I have a box made by Xitel that goes from tape out to usb.
It comes with software.

There are probably others.