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!


128x1281graber2
1graber2's avatar
1graber2 OP
303 posts
 
@lp2cd 
Interesting to hear that most people just buy CDs, when buying and listening to vinyl - the whole point was to NOT have to listen to the quirks and just plain bad recordings on CDs with the loudness wars, etc. 

I have a lot of 70s albums- first pressings. IOWs, its the gold standard of recording: straight from the original tape to vinyl. And what of my 45 LPM MOFI collection? There are no suitable CD replacements, not even close, not even the SACDs put out by the same producer- MoFi get close to the detail and balance of the 45 12" albums. 

But I hear what you are suggesting, and that is what I asked for, suggestions. At this point, I still want to transpose some vinyl, but otherwiseI can use CDs, downloads, or Tidal will fill in the music from selling the LPs. 
Don't get me wrong, I love the big artwork of the vinyl as well, but I don't have storage here, and I don't know when I will return to the states. 

Thats why- @tkr - the Metric Halo will not work for me. But I agree, its an awesome piece of kit, and if I was landlocked in the states, I would seriously be considering it. 

And- @lastdayperfectmusic - "mud walls are an excellent sound absorbent"- LOL, but only if it is audiophile mud!!!!
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.
1graber2's avatar
1graber2 OP
303 posts
 
Thx lp2cd.
- more words of wisdom, wish I had your knowledge base for recording..... more food for thought

-great info about the Mytec for ADC. I have used Bel Canto DACs the last many years, they have an great ADC, but no digital out .... ;( 


16f4's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
16f4
1,062 posts
 
I have been monitoring this forum for a few days now, hesitating about putting my two cents in, but here it goes:

I speak as someone who has been digitizing records for about twenty years.  Don't digitize records just to have the music on hand.  It is neither cost nor time efficient.  It takes real time and effort to digitize a record, about 2 hours or more, so if you don’t have lots of time it will be a real grind.  If you have an especially rare record and it needs to be cleaned up, by all means do it.  But really, it is easier just to buy a new copy in whatever format you want to listen to it in.

I didn’t see where you were moving, but moving records overseas runs the risk of loss, damage or eventual warping.  Whenever I have moved overseas (Korea, England, Panama, Gabon) I have stored my vinyl in the US.  If you plan on not returning, you might consider selling them.  Just consider the risks.

if you do just want to digitize your records, I have had great luck with Wave Repair. You can do a lot with it, but it takes some skill and patience. 

As for equipment, I have never fussed too much over it.  An integrated amp with a REC OUT into my computer has worked fine.  
1graber2's avatar
1graber2 OP
303 posts
 
^^^^^^
thx for the input. Appreciate the straightforwardness. Will consider. Yes,  I will probably just focus on digitizing the special vinyl only. 
More to discover