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-- rip vinyl to computer, hardware for best quality?
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rip vinyl to computer, hardware for best quality?
I want to start ripping all my vinyl to my computer so i can play them out on CD
I was wondering what was the optimal set up to get the best audio quality in the rip?
I currently have two technics with Ortofon Pro-S needles
my mixer is a Pioneer DJM600
I have a Mac with the factory standered sound card and ProTools Free and a PC with a SB Audigy and Sound Forge
I currently have my mixer connected to my PC with the RCA Master Out into the input on the PC via a Y-Cable
this is how i record my mixs onto the computer. The soundquality is decent, but i want the best I can get to record my vinyl onto CD
what would be the best way to connect the mixer to my PC or my Mac to get the best quality out of the rip?
thanks
well to begin, the audigy is not nearly the best for recording audio. The audigy is intended for gaming and such. So for a pro soundcard, the m-audio delta-44 is a nice solution b/c it has balanced inputs, and your mixer has balanced outs. If you want to stick w/ your current hardware, at least get better quality rca to stereo 1/8" jack cables. Also try and have your mixer hooked up on a seperate circuit than your computers, amps, and other electronics. That may help lower the noise floor level and reduce the likelyhood of ground loops. The final thing you can do is improve your carts for your turntables. If don't mind buying a cartridge strickly for recording that may be another good choice as well. Personally, i really like the sound quality of mine so to me that's not a big issue. Hope this helps...
I gave up on improving hardware, I found that using the right software takes you a long way.
So I use Izotope Ozone 3 for my mixes. Once my computer cooperates with me I can link ya up to my mix and you can see what I am working with.
oh, and I use mk2s, shure m44-7s, rca straight to my m-audio audiophile, then record in cubase with izotope.
comes out great, you can even set the bitrate way up if ya want to.
I have found that I get the best quality when using the simplest method - after weeks of testing different set-ups, here is what I use and I love the quality I get...
ortofon nightclub elliptical stylus (used only for recording) on a Tech 1200
connected to my stereo receiver with phono input (I found this much much better that going thru my mixer, but try yourself).
connected to my PC with M-Audio internal soundcard.
I record in Soundforge (any wave editor should do) then simply split up the tracks.
I have tried using numerous post recording clean-up/processing programs but found that to me it sounds best unprocessed when playing it in the mix later on CD.
1212
i found it best to kook up the soundcard directly from my mixer's outs. As for editing, the most i do is normalize the track.
thanks for the tips guys.
I'm definatly gonne pick up an the best ellyptical stylus ortofon has to offer so i can use that soley for recording vinyl.
I've been thinking about getting a good sound card for my mac for quite a while. The M-Audio Delta 44 looks pretty nice.
But with the I/O box that comes with the Delta 44 all i see is 1/4" connecters. The DJM 600 only has XLR outs and RCA. I know I can get converter cables, but I'd like to have some XLR inputs, especially cuz if i got one of these cards I'd like to connect some mics to record.
What would be a good and relativly inexpensive solution for this? I saw the Omni I/O expansion box, but thats another 300$ on top of the 300$ for the M-Audio Delta 44.
*edit
I just saw the OmniStudio on the M-Audio site (Delta 66 with the Omni I/O box) for $400. Is this a really good combo? Anyone know of any other cards, I/O boxes they feel are a better deal?
I'll tell you a better deal than buying any new hardware... but first, you must tell me if your Mac is a G4 or G5 or what??
| quote: |
| Originally posted by SgtFoo I'll tell you a better deal than buying any new hardware... but first, you must tell me if your Mac is a G4 or G5 or what?? |
K.. YOU ARE HONESTLY better off getting a cable to connect the stereo RCA record out from your mixer, or even bypass your mixer altogether and record the RCAs from your TT (which would record best with a Shure WhiteLabel cart.. the ortofons are best applied for club use as I've seen) to the line input on your g4, which you can also get Pro-Tools free on. The g4 will record better, monitor better, and edit better than the pc will, b/c there's a better audio driver on a g4 than a sound card on a pc.
I tell you this out of experience... and you should know that I've only owned PCs all my life, not Macs.... but when it comes to pro-audio... Apple is the way to go.
If you need any help with Pro-Tools... post here or PM me. 
| quote: |
| Originally posted by SgtFoo K.. YOU ARE HONESTLY better off getting a cable to connect the stereo RCA record out from your mixer, or even bypass your mixer altogether and record the RCAs from your TT (which would record best with a Shure WhiteLabel cart.. the ortofons are best applied for club use as I've seen) to the line input on your g4, which you can also get Pro-Tools free on. |
Yes that is true, it would be stupid to directly connect the TT to the soundcard. YOu must have some sort of amplification before the lineout connectors on the soundcard. Phono signals are at around -12 db? someone correct me if i'm wrong. But line ins are much higher
my volume levels are soo fucked, when i try to rip/record to my cpu....GAH
| quote: |
| Originally posted by auujay Are you forgetting the fact that you are recorded the record without a pre-amp? This is key as records have certain frequencies boosted and need an RIAA curve preamp to boost them to normal line level inputs. If you are going to bypass the mixer you will still need some sort of preamplifier (unless there is some sort of RIAA cruve filter you can apply in software once it is recorded). |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by vhx1 Yes that is true, it would be stupid to directly connect the TT to the soundcard. YOu must have some sort of amplification before the lineout connectors on the soundcard. Phono signals are at around -12 db? someone correct me if i'm wrong. But line ins are much higher |
Hey montie....if you have the moolah and want a real pro level audio I/O box that has XLR inputs, look into getting a Digi 001. A friend of mine got one 5 years ago when they were new and he loved it.
But the 1/4" inputs should cause you no loss in sound quality if they are blanaced TRS vs a standard A3M XLR.
If you are solely recording and not going to be back cueing at all you should get a belt drive turntable and a good quality Hi-Fi cartridge. The direct drive mechanism adds quite a bit of background noise into the wash.
and for all your audio ripping/streaming needs on MacOSX....visit www.rogueamoeba.com .
MrS
When I get a new record I don't play at all it until I have recorded it to my Mac.
Here is what I do/use:
I start by cleaning the record with the Milty Pixall MKII vinyl cleaning roller. This thing gets all the dust off.
I use a Technics 1210MK5G with a Stanton 890RMs elliptical stylus.
I have a Rane 2016 MP that I use for the pre-amp. I also make sure to disable the 2016 XP (EQ) to avoid any extra noise.
From there it goes to an Edirol UA-5 hardware analog to digital converter via 1 meter balanced XLR cables.
The Edirol UA-5 USB output goes to my Mac G5 and I use Bias Peak to do the recording. I take care to make sure I don't peak/clip anywhere in the chain. After I have the track recorded in Peak all I do it normalize it.
Once you had an original copy you can start tweaking with it. I never try to clean the song. If you have a high quality setup your really shouldn�t need to. Usually I just re-EQ it and edit it around. 
Have fun with it...
Keith
there is this hardware-thingie you could buy for ~1000 swe kr .. it connects to the USBport and seems to be very easy.. havent tried it out myself.. =)
i have my MK5 hocked up to my stereo (100 watt) thin into my computer. but when i play it on the recording program it is WAY TOO LOUD. so i turned the input meater all the way down and it is still distorted becouse it is too loud.
how do i fix
a soundcard that has RCA ins/outs? m-audio delta 1010 LT. it should be around $300 brand new although you can ebay it for less. 8 analogue RCA ins/outs, S/PDIF in/out (coaxial optical connection that your mixer probably supports) and midi in/out. its pretty much the same as the delta 1010 except all the connections are RCA, not 1/4" TRS jacks and you dont get the rackmountable breakout box. i believe the 1010 LT also has 2 mic preamps aswell. you wont use all those ins straight away. in either case, you can never have too many ins/outs.
also, the signal from a phono is -10dB with a 14dB difference between mic and line level. the idea is to pre amp the signal up to line level then bounce it down in soundforge or whatever app you use to record from a line in. recording directly from source without a pre amp just means you have to amplify the signal post recording which will also increase the level of the ambient noise in the recording. not good.
on my current sound card i have a line in and a mic. what u just sead was very smart. but i don't understand. so do i need a diffrint stereo or what?
what soundcard have you got? some soundcards you can set the input to record at mic or line level. on my delta 1010 theres a button on each input. pushed in its -10dB. out its +4dB. most home stereos and hifis operate at -10dB.
also, are you connecting them like this:
mk5s ----> left + right input on hifi.
left + right output on hifi ----> line in on soundcard.
turn the volume down on the hifi. and turn the record level down in windows or in the software supplied with your soundcard. then raise it till its audible without distorting.
anyone know of a good USB soundcard with an digital in (I have the Denon DN-X1500 that has a digital out)...and that's relatively cheap?....also having analog rca in/output would be nice too...
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Dj Ricky H anyone know of a good USB soundcard with an digital in (I have the Denon DN-X1500 that has a digital out)...and that's relatively cheap?....also having analog rca in/output would be nice too... |
depends on what digitial in/out. there are several types.
the first is digital aes/ebu. if you look on the back of your mixer its this big kind of 3 pronged socket. should have a male and female type. thats a true fibre optic digital link. i dont know any entry level pro audio souncards that support this type of connection. the MOTU HD192 has alot of these but its a proper 192 khz recording interface - i.e. it probably costs more than your car.
the second type of digital in/out is S/PDIF or sony/phillips digital interface. this is a coaxial connection that alot of soundcards support - ie m audio delta 1010/LT, MOTU 828 mkII etc.
you can get soundcards fairly cheaply that have a few TRS 1/4"/RCA analogue ins/outs and an S/PDIF connection. you can get 1/4" TRS to RCA connections easily and cheaply anyway so i wouldnt worry about that.
if you have a picture of the back of your mixer i could tell if it does. i know for a fact that DJM500 (and i suppose DJM600) has aes/ebu but i didnt check for S/PDIF. i assume it does however. S/PDIF looks a bit like an RCA connection only it has an outer rim on the female socket.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Derivative depends on what digitial in/out. there are several types. the first is digital aes/ebu. if you look on the back of your mixer its this big kind of 3 pronged socket. should have a male and female type. thats a true fibre optic digital link. i dont know any entry level pro audio souncards that support this type of connection. the MOTU HD192 has alot of these but its a proper 192 khz recording interface - i.e. it probably costs more than your car. the second type of digital in/out is S/PDIF or sony/phillips digital interface. this is a coaxial connection that alot of soundcards support - ie m audio delta 1010/LT, MOTU 828 mkII etc. you can get soundcards fairly cheaply that have a few TRS 1/4"/RCA analogue ins/outs and an S/PDIF connection. you can get 1/4" TRS to RCA connections easily and cheaply anyway so i wouldnt worry about that. if you have a picture of the back of your mixer i could tell if it does. i know for a fact that DJM500 (and i suppose DJM600) has aes/ebu but i didnt check for S/PDIF. i assume it does however. S/PDIF looks a bit like an RCA connection only it has an outer rim on the female socket. |
that actually looks pretty neat and the price is quite good considering you get a preamp + breakoutbox. 2 inputs though. nowhere near enough if you plan on adding production tools. maybe a sampler. groove box. or synth or something. the m-audio delta 1010 LT has a truck load more inputs (8). 2 mic preamps. no breakout box though so it doesnt look great (its just a PCI card with a tonne of wires popping out the back.
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