Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable? revised
I've seen some of the Crosley line in Target if you want to get up close and personal with one before you buy. On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 6:06 PM, Jeff Miles [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I recently sent a link to the turntable I bought from Crosley. I was wrong. It's actually this one, Songwriter CD Burner / Player with Turntable Cassette Player. It's the same model number, but includes the cassette player. The one I sent earlier didn't include the cassette player. Jeff M On Dec 3, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Judy Cosler wrote: some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * -- John Duncan Yoyo ---o) * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
For converting 78's to digital, I used to use an old Miracord changer that had a GE VRII cartridge, coupled to an equally ancient Marantz audio consolette preamplifier that has equalization for various old 78 recording curves. I go from the single tape output (remember this is all monaural) to a Y adapter and then through an analog/digital/USB gadget (I forget the brand, but they are cheap and plentiful), bypassing the sound card in the PC. I use Audacity from SoundForge for managing the recording and editing. Audacity isn't at all intuitive, but it doesn't take long to master most of the applicable functions. I have had to retire the Miracord, as the rubber idlers are tired and the speed wasn't consistent. I replaced it with a newer ERC combination changer/receiver and 8 track(!) player that used to be my son's. It has a 78 record needle and plays very well (I bypassed the ERC's amplifier and ran the outputs directly into the Marantz). For 33's and 45' I use my regular Dual or Yamaha turntables and modern amplifiers, but otherwise the process is the same. I save the 78 recordings as .wav files but convert them to .mp3 to save space - the sound quality doesn't suffer. For 33's, I cut CD-Rs with .wav files. I also save the music to regular reel-to-reel tape - anything to keep playing the old records repeatedly. Aren't you glad you asked? I am sure there are much simpler ways to accomplish the same thing, but I like to 1. mess around with stuff like this, and 2. avoid spending any more money than I absolutely have to. All of this was done with stuff I acquired for free, except the analog/digital converter box. http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/old-electronics-and/marantzpreamp1.html and http://public.fotki.com/mikesloane/old-electronics-and/ercturntable.html Mike Steve Rigby wrote: On Dec 3, 2008, at 2:28 PM, Judy Cosler wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! I use a real turntable, an old school one, hooked up to a stereo amplifier and couple that to my USB port using a Griffin iMic by using the tape outputs of the stereo amp. Griffin has some free software that allows any old school turntable to connect directly to the iMic, providing proper equalization to the audio signal with the need for having to go through a stereo amp or preamp in order to achieve said equalization. I just do not like their software as it is not very controllable or flexible enough for my taste. There are USB turntables available, but I do not know how good their cartridges are. That is why I use my old stereo component turntable, because it has a very high quality cartridge. Perhaps one can put any cartridge of their choice into a modern USB turntable, I just don't know. Steve * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
[CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Ion makes a turntable that plugs into the USB port, it seems like a descent unit but I have not tried it. I found this laypersons review of the unit. http://www.winecommonsewer.com/the_wine_commonsewer/2008/05/ion-usb-turntab.html If you have a nice turntable and stereo set I would get a external usb audio/videao capture board. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1950.html If you only have a couple of vinyls it makes more sense to buy the CD(if you like every song) or the mp3 if it is just one track your after. You can get just about any song online. If you look hard enough. Mike Judy Cosler wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
ION turntable USB, with software. Stewart At 01:28 PM 12/3/2008, you wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * Rev. Stewart A. Marshall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org Ozark, AL SL 82 * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
I recently purchased one from Amazon for a friend (Audio Technica AT-LP2DUSB). As I recall, there weren't a lot of options as to quality; certainly not the selection there was in the old days. There isn't too much 'automatic' about the process. You have to learn to use a sound editor, and learn to burn the finished audio files to cd. This one shipped with a version of the open source Audacity, and some other app I can't remember. Face it, no matter how good it is, the old records are going to sound worse than modern digital music. My buddy is still worried about finding replacement cartridges for the darned thing, as I have yet to convince him that once he rips an album he'll never need to play the record again, and can just throw it away. On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:28 PM, Judy Cosler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
One thing that would be useful but I don't know if it's available is some way to insert track markers when there's a break between sections. I used to use a Sony CD recorder that required special music CDs and would accept an auxiliary input from a phono jack. I remember the problem with recording records was that oftentimes it would be one looong track. Autobreaks were often in odd places. But that was 4 years ago so I assume the technology's better now. Michael Drabick wrote: Ion makes a turntable that plugs into the USB port, it seems like a descent unit but I have not tried it. I found this laypersons review of the unit. http://www.winecommonsewer.com/the_wine_commonsewer/2008/05/ion-usb-turntab.html If you have a nice turntable and stereo set I would get a external usb audio/videao capture board. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1950.html If you only have a couple of vinyls it makes more sense to buy the CD(if you like every song) or the mp3 if it is just one track your after. You can get just about any song online. If you look hard enough. Mike Judy Cosler wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
we got an audio technica http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UKUDSE/ref=s9k2a_c3_at1-rfc_p-3237_g1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DERpf_rd_s=center-1pf_rd_r=1HZAEF4XG1H0TPZ03ERApf_rd_t=101pf_rd_p=463383351pf_rd_i=507846 comes with software. totally cleans up pops and crackles. totally acceptable. is very inexpensive compared to the teac, and probably does the same job. limits are: 1. no breaks between songs 2 no song titles ie it can't put in what ain't there. At 02:28 PM 12/3/2008, you wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Audacity also allows you to do that, but as Tony mentioned, it requires some audio editing skill. The automatic function only works some of the time, so you end up doing it manually. Richard P. One thing that would be useful but I don't know if it's available is some way to insert track markers when there's a break between sections. I used to use a Sony CD recorder that required special music CDs and would accept an auxiliary input from a phono jack. I remember the problem with recording records was that oftentimes it would be one looong track. Autobreaks were often in odd places. But that was 4 years ago so I assume the technology's better now. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
some ppl think vinyl sounds better than anything! (I don't weigh in with any opinion; don't think my 'ear' is good enough to tell!) Tony B wrote: I recently purchased one from Amazon for a friend (Audio Technica AT-LP2DUSB). As I recall, there weren't a lot of options as to quality; certainly not the selection there was in the old days. There isn't too much 'automatic' about the process. You have to learn to use a sound editor, and learn to burn the finished audio files to cd. This one shipped with a version of the open source Audacity, and some other app I can't remember. Face it, no matter how good it is, the old records are going to sound worse than modern digital music. My buddy is still worried about finding replacement cartridges for the darned thing, as I have yet to convince him that once he rips an album he'll never need to play the record again, and can just throw it away. On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:28 PM, Judy Cosler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! Michael Drabick wrote: Ion makes a turntable that plugs into the USB port, it seems like a descent unit but I have not tried it. I found this laypersons review of the unit. http://www.winecommonsewer.com/the_wine_commonsewer/2008/05/ion-usb-turntab.html If you have a nice turntable and stereo set I would get a external usb audio/videao capture board. http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1950.html If you only have a couple of vinyls it makes more sense to buy the CD(if you like every song) or the mp3 if it is just one track your after. You can get just about any song online. If you look hard enough. Mike Judy Cosler wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! TIA, Judy * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Many of the arguments for vinyl being better arose at a time when CD sound was not as good as it is today. But LPs are certainly better than MP3s if you have a good turntable. It is often said that vinyl has a warm quality and the slight sound of a turntable can be nostalgic for those who remember. But certainly one should not throw away one's albums unless they are in terrible condition. Long after your CDs stop playing (which may be about ten years for the cheaper ones) your albums will still be there (as long as you keep them in a good storage area) to make another copy for you. Making a digital copy of your favorite and rare vinyl recording to play is a good idea to preserve it. On the editing, if it removes the pops and crackles it almost certainly does something to the dynamic range. So you might try it with and without to see which you prefer. But if you buy something you may not necessarily want to go with the simplest method. Most of the time once you learn a method for editing it will be repeatable and won't take much more time than a simple player that screws things up a lot. Let us know what you find! Judy Cosler wrote: some ppl think vinyl sounds better than anything! (I don't weigh in with any opinion; don't think my 'ear' is good enough to tell!) Tony B wrote: I recently purchased one from Amazon for a friend (Audio Technica AT-LP2DUSB). As I recall, there weren't a lot of options as to quality; certainly not the selection there was in the old days. There isn't too much 'automatic' about the process. You have to learn to use a sound editor, and learn to burn the finished audio files to cd. This one shipped with a version of the open source Audacity, and some other app I can't remember. Face it, no matter how good it is, the old records are going to sound worse than modern digital music. My buddy is still worried about finding replacement cartridges for the darned thing, as I have yet to convince him that once he rips an album he'll never need to play the record again, and can just throw it away. On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:28 PM, Judy Cosler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
I bought a Crosley. If you enter crosley truntable into an amazon.com search you'll find a bunch of different ones. I bought the Crosley CR248 Songwriter CD Recorder. I haven't yet actually burned a CD with it, so I can't attest to the quality. But it looks and seems pretty strait forward. Jeff M On Dec 3, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Judy Cosler wrote: some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Face it, no matter how good it is, the old records are going to sound worse than modern digital music. you should post this comment on the Klipsch bb, where people pay a fortune for vynal, macintosch,marantz, crown and other tube components. 1960 turntables are worshipped. large horn speakers are a life within themselves. they may send the tone of death down the ether to you. the macs of sound. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! Some things to consider, are these 78s? If so this may be more difficult than it first appears. Even if they're all LPs, how many do you have to digitize? Are the equivalents available on CD (I ask because these are often available as remasters which can sound much better than the original CD issues)? These questions have a bearing on how I'd answer this. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable? revised
I recently sent a link to the turntable I bought from Crosley. I was wrong. It's actually this one, Songwriter CD Burner / Player with Turntable Cassette Player. It's the same model number, but includes the cassette player. The one I sent earlier didn't include the cassette player. Jeff M On Dec 3, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Judy Cosler wrote: some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
tell more! I have old turntable, vinyl, speakers, tuner, reel-to-reel.where is tHE Klipsch bb? off to look! gerald wrote: Face it, no matter how good it is, the old records are going to sound worse than modern digital music. you should post this comment on the Klipsch bb, where people pay a fortune for vynal, macintosch,marantz, crown and other tube components. 1960 turntables are worshipped. large horn speakers are a life within themselves. they may send the tone of death down the ether to you. the macs of sound. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** * * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Klipsch speakers at one time were made in Hope, AR. I worked there (City not factory) for a short time. The owner (Paul Kilipsch) drive a Mercedes around town and so did his wife with personalized license plates. The CEO drove a Rolls around town with the personalized license plate Heresy. The story told me, was that Paul loved the corner speaker and only thought large horn speakers could do sound properly. When they brought in the new CEO, he told Paul we need to make a book shelf speaker. Paul looked at him and said it was heresy to make a bookshelf speaker, so guess what the first line of book shelf speakers was named? Like I said this might be apocryphal or not. Stewart At 04:29 PM 12/3/2008, you wrote: you should post this comment on the Klipsch bb, where people pay a fortune for vynal, macintosch,marantz, crown and other tube components. 1960 turntables are worshipped. large horn speakers are a life within themselves. they may send the tone of death down the ether to you. the macs of sound. Rev. Stewart A. Marshall mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Prince of Peace www.princeofpeaceozark.org Ozark, AL SL 82 * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
On Dec 3, 2008, at 2:28 PM, Judy Cosler wrote: any recommendations for a turntable to convert vinyl to digital format? any that I should stay away from? want easy, fast; don't want to have to tinker with. but, i don't want hum or other bad things. i'm no audiophile really! I use a real turntable, an old school one, hooked up to a stereo amplifier and couple that to my USB port using a Griffin iMic by using the tape outputs of the stereo amp. Griffin has some free software that allows any old school turntable to connect directly to the iMic, providing proper equalization to the audio signal with the need for having to go through a stereo amp or preamp in order to achieve said equalization. I just do not like their software as it is not very controllable or flexible enough for my taste. There are USB turntables available, but I do not know how good their cartridges are. That is why I use my old stereo component turntable, because it has a very high quality cartridge. Perhaps one can put any cartridge of their choice into a modern USB turntable, I just don't know. Steve * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
On Dec 3, 2008, at 6:08 PM, Rev. Stewart Marshall wrote: Klipsch speakers at one time were made in Hope, AR. I worked there (City not factory) for a short time. The owner (Paul Kilipsch) drive a Mercedes around town and so did his wife with personalized license plates. The CEO drove a Rolls around town with the personalized license plate Heresy. The story told me, was that Paul loved the corner speaker and only thought large horn speakers could do sound properly. When they brought in the new CEO, he told Paul we need to make a book shelf speaker. Paul looked at him and said it was heresy to make a bookshelf speaker, so guess what the first line of book shelf speakers was named? Like I said this might be apocryphal or not. I knew Mr. Klipsch, and rode in that Rolls Royce a couple of times. He also flew airplanes, and while I never flew with him, my father did, and was always leery of doing so because Mr. Klipsch wore these big, thick glasses. Not exactly comforting as a passenger in his plane. Steve * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
I will look online, I guess. Start here: http://www.needledoctor.com/ If you get sticker shock go to turntables/usbturntables. That page contains an assortment of pretty much everything that's out there that will plug into a USB port. The cost/benefit numbers are not something you should overlook here. Also, if you are dealing with 78s you'll need a separate cartridge/stylus to track them correctly and of course a turntable that supports that speed. I went through this exercise a little while back and here's what I learned... I had a decent turntable and cartridge all ready, an AR XA with a Shure V15 mk. V. I wasn't going to improve on that much so I replaced the belt on the turntable, checked the arm geometry and the tracking force. Luckily I still had all the gauges. I all ready had a spare turntable mat which I threw on. I had my bubble level from back in the eighties. I was ready to roll, I jacked it in to my '80s NAD receiver, pulled out my Sennheisers and fired it up. It sounded great, the only vinyl I had on hand was a secondhand shop copy of Dry Dreams (1982, Jim Carroll Band). This has never to my knowledge been released on CD, it is available on MP3...but I admit I'm an audiophile. So on to the digitization. I used Audacity and connected the line outs on the NAD to my sound board. After some assing around it worked. Far too much fooling around, though, I have a rather extensive LP collection as well as a few tapes that I wanted to digitize. I wanted a simpler solution, what I really wanted was a device that would make a Red Book CD out of an LP or tape in one shot so I could simply rip the CD to my hard drive in 44 kHz format and save the CD as the archival backup. I also needed to introduce a dbx compander into the audio path on the tape digitizations since most of the tapes were dbx compressed (I had the dbx device). I needed a tape deck, but my last Nak died in 1990. So I got one of these: http://www.tascam.com/products/cc-222mkiii;9,34,11,14.html This was well before the recession, ha ha. But it works as advertised and does exactly what I wanted. Track detection is excellent on LPs and fair to good on tapes, threshold adjustable. Once it's set up properly (and it takes a while to master, it is not a simple machine) it will crank out Red Book CD copies of whatever you put on the turntable or in the cassette slot. However...it's a nice machine. But you can only digitize in real time, not a problem if you only have a few items. But then why spend the money (unless you just like cool things). When I realized that most of the stuff (not all) that I was digitizing was all ready available on (mostly) remastered CDs at $10.00 a pop that sounded (mostly) better and often included bonus tracks it was an easy decision. I can rip a CD in lossless format in about 2 minutes And I can put the CD back in its box and store it as backup. The break even point is about 100 CDs, but it's really more because of the time factor. Just some variables to consider. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Not necessarily. I haven't tried it myself, but couldn't you use a standard USB turntable at 33 or 45 rpm and correct the sound via editing I wonder? Of course, that would only fix the speed and pitch. The horrendous clicks, hiss, and skips would be impossible to eliminate. FWIW, I gave away all my LPs nearly 10 years ago, after ripping only one of them. Waaay too much trouble. Also, if you are dealing with 78s you'll need a separate cartridge/stylus to track them correctly and of course a turntable that supports that speed. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
some of these are old, old jazz. I will look online, I guess. would be way easier! I had a couple Swimming Pool Q's and Scruffy the Cat albums (definitely not jazz) I bought off eBay, but was waiting to get an Ion to rip them. This was music that the labels never recorded to CD and my old cassettes were long dead, stripped of their oxide coating. A quick search found high-quality rips of these albums online on music blogs. This is now my new found obsession. I've found much of other types of out-of-print/hard-to-find music this way over the past couple of months. Some good 80's alternative, alt-country, cow-punk and some incredible modern instro-surf stuff too. I'm a happy boy now. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
Not necessarily. I haven't tried it myself, but couldn't you use a standard USB turntable at 33 or 45 rpm and correct the sound via editing I wonder? The groove width and angle differ between LPs and 78s. That's why you had flippable styli on phonographs of the transition period. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
Re: [CGUYS] LP to CD turntable?
One was good, the other three were horrible - lots of hisses and pops. Surface noise and dynamic range were killers to LPs. You could knock out a lot of the surface noise with proper care. Use of a Discwasher, antistatic mats and lined sleeves went a long way. Quality pressings and vertical storage could minimize warpage. Proper tracking force, arm geometry, antiskating, etc and of course high quality equipment. Most people didn't do any of this, of course. Dynamic range was always a limitation. This is where CDs should have shined, and properly mastered new ones do. The early CDs sounded bright and harsh because of two major factors, the recording engineers didn't understand how to master without RIAA equalization which was nescessary on LPs nut not on CDs. A lot of early CDs were simply direct transfers from compressed and equalized analog masters. The other reason they sounded bad was that the DACs in the players themselves were not exactly ready for prime time. What the LP/analog format is capable of is I guess best (or most easily/accessibly) illustrated by Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight from the Face Value album. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Air_Tonight I believe that was an analog master, but I'm open to correction. It was an eye-opener on a good system. Dire Strait's Brothers in Arms was the first DDD album. It was RIAA equalized as I recall for the LP version but the CD was the first to really push the medium's dynamic range to its full potential. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms_(album) Awesome, if you like that sort of stuff. The perennial problem with CDs is that even if you correct for the DAC capability issues, the jitter artifacts, stc., some people will still say that they don't sound as good as (good) LPs because the sampling rate is too low. Analog doesn't have a sampling rate issue, of course. Does what you get in dynamic range and freedom from noise offset perceived sampling rate harshness even after jitter and DAC bandwidth issues have been corrected? I don't know, but that's what the analog vs digital debate is all about. There is no question that digital is more convenient. But there are a whole lot of people listening to MP3s out there that can't imagine what music can sound like in either an ideal digital OR analog form. * ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *
