betty boop Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 guys, an uncle of ours has given us a couple of old LPs that he would love to have in digital form…file or CD which is preferable to him. When I ran a pc I just ran from phono stage to analog inputs on my audigy drive bay I ran, of course don't have that on our macbook pro and wondering what is a good solution ? straight into the audio in via the headphone port or should I go usb ? what devices are around for that and what should I use for software ? any suggestions guys…if this is more appropriate in the turntable section can move there, but thought this is more computer based i.e. what input means, devices needed and software ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe67 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Cheap solution is the NAD pp3 , I have one, like NAD gear its cheap, cheerful and does the job well. Spreading a bit more money, the adl gt40 seems good value. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 the nad pp3 looks interesting cafe, seeing I have a phono pre already myself, looks like both of these will take a line in as well ? as looks like with the furetech option. whats the software like that the nad looks like comes with ? appears to be both mac and osx compatible ? looks like there is a nad pp4 as well, though just looks like just a name change?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davm Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 (edited) I been messing about with this lately. I've downloaded the trial version of PureVinyl which runs as a full version for 14 days. I've been sending the input through the mic input on my Mac Mini. This will do the AtoD conversion. There's two options for RIAA equalisation: Use your existing phono stage or bypass the phono stage and do it PureVinyl. The advantage of the latter is that there are lots of different curves to choose from - good for older records that may not use the standard RIAA curve. What I found: Using the phono stage didn't work too well as the input signal was too strong and was causing overloading in PureVinyl. If I wasn't going to use the phono, I needed some gain to send from the cartridge into the Mac Mini from my MC cartridge. Since I was just playing around, I cobbled something together using old stuff I have. Fed the MC cartridge into a Ortofon MCA-76 (which is like a step-up transformer to boost the MC signal to MM levels). I then connected the output from the MCA-76 into a line input on an old Luxman C-02 preamp I have. I then took the output from the preamp and fed that to the mic input on the Mac. I could then use the volume control on my Luxman to get the signal strength right for recording in PureVinyl. Recording with PureVinyl is OK, but a bit fiddly. It lets you enter track names and times and then will automatically create separate tracks. This didn't work very well for me and I ended up manually marking the tracks. PureVinyl has a method for getting rid of clicks and pops, but it's very manual and tedious. So I'm also trialling another product called ClickRepair. This takes the tracks exported out of PureVinyl and processes them to get rid of the noises. Regards, David. Edited April 27, 2014 by davm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hochopeper Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 (edited) For the really 'ideal' method I would take the second of davm's options and also wire the TT for balanced output. Find a really low noise, low distortion differential gain stage (hard to do if not into diy unfortunately) that is not a SUT. Then use balanced input on the ADC. Every decent modern ADC has differential or balanced inputs so for connection between a TT cartridge that is naturally a balanced device (though not used that way often) it would save conversion from balanced to single ended then back again. A friend is designed a balanced gain stage like this at the moment and its what I would ideally use as digital in from TT to digital DSP powered active speaker system. I think @supra is playing with this and I need to email him soon to check in on how he is going with it! Cheers, Chris Edited April 27, 2014 by hochopeper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 thank you guys, I remember how well this worked just going RCA from my phono stage to RCA inputs on my audigy drive bay on the PC so know excellent results are possible. I'm thinking I will just try analog to analog input into the macbook pro. download pure vinyl for trial purposes. see how that goes. my be good enough for the uncles purposes. a couple of LPs there to do. worse case if not happy can do again using other means and invest in some necessary gear been mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleus Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Audacity is free and painless, couple with click repair and you've got all you need on software side. Using the inputs on your Mac isn't ideal, but as it's only a one off you'll probably be ok 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 Audacity is free and painless, couple with click repair and you've got all you need on software side. Using the inputs on your Mac isn't ideal, but as it's only a one off you'll probably be ok what options do you suggest coleus re instead of using the audio in on the macbook pro ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coleus Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 (edited) I use a battery operated digital recorder, no noise, Sony PCMD50, they also do the PCMM10 there are other options from Edirol and Zoom, will also enable you to record some live music in Hi res :-) Record one side, hit pause, record the other, pop into audacity, split, save, run thru click repair done. Edited April 27, 2014 by coleus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrose Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I use a battery operated digital recorder, no noise, Sony PCMD50, they also do the PCMM10 there are other options from Edirol and Zoom, will also enable you to record some live music in Hi res :-) +1, I use a Tascam recorder. Allows for the same quality of playback in the analog domain as your main system upto the cables coming from your amps tape out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 wow the sony is not a cheap piece ! but obviously giving a great result old rose what is the tascam ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe67 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 the nad pp3 looks interesting cafe, seeing I have a phono pre already myself, looks like both of these will take a line in as well ? as looks like with the furetech option. whats the software like that the nad looks like comes with ? appears to be both mac and osx compatible ? looks like there is a nad pp4 as well, though just looks like just a name change?. I found the pp3 worked fine and yes it also as a line in , thee gt40 is a bit swiss army knife. The supplied software is fine, you get a basic version supplied and can upgrade for a small amount, audacity HSS mentioned works fine and program called cdwave I have also found good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrose Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 wow the sony is not a cheap piece ! but obviously giving a great result old rose what is the tascam ? Tascam DR-05 in my case. Now available for an annoying low price compared to what I paid on its release. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 thank you old rose there seems a few tascams and all pretty reasonably priced. seems can get the dr40 even from $155+shipping from overseas or $250 delivered if bought locally. which is pretty affordable for a neat gadget and has both XLR and 1/4" connectivity it seems ? ooooh I am very very tempted http://www.wellesley.edu/sites/default/files/assets/departments/libraryandtechnology/files/e_dr-40_om_va.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hochopeper Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Al, If you use that be careful with input signal selector switch, input impedance and max level in mic mode isn't great, could end up clipping. Keep it in line mode and that will be OK. The linearity and distortion specs are not crash hot but as a trial run doesn't hurt I suppose. To maximize the ADC performance keep the input signal peaks -6dB from full scale as approaching clipping the distortion will increase. Might need to do a bit of fiddling of the phone/pre volume settings to get that level right. I do like those combo neutrik jacks that have xlr and trs sockets in one. They're bulky though and I wouldn't be surprised if the tascam units enclosure had to grow just to accommodate them. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 thanks chris, yes still have some question marks ! its still a pricey thing in scheme of things to end up getting and then wondering if quite good enough ? seems a few variables there could end up befuddling my self with hehe really wish this kind of thing could have a play with ! ps I did some checking on the sony cpm recorders(pcm10 & pcm50) and they're all discontinued for some reason it seems…well thats what the sony aus sites says.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted April 28, 2014 Volunteer Share Posted April 28, 2014 the tascam looks interesting. If I have a preamp with a phone stage inbuilt, how would I connect it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 the tascam looks interesting. If I have a preamp with a phone stage inbuilt, how would I connect it up? just come off the pre's tape out via RCAs into TRS/RCA adapters…or go L&R XLRs into the TASCAM i.e. using the line ins 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ophool Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 If the Macbook has firewire, I have an M-audio Audiophile 24/96 firewire interface that has Mac OS drivers I could probably part with. I have used this in the past (now using Profire 610). Specs/review @ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may04/articles/maudiofirewireap.htm PM if this interests. Vinylstudio is much cheaper than Purevinyl and now available for Mac (haven't tried that version yet). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betocool Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 I'd definitively do the Tascam / Audacity combination. Mind you, there are some cheaper Tascams available (no balanced inputs), and I've seen Olympus going down that path too. All in all around 120 AUD or so. For a one off or casual listening, I wouldn't go through too much trouble or spend too much money. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Not to mac but win7 laptop: from phono preamp and tube preamp to Behringer 24B\96K A2D with Sony Sound Forge software. Generally I don't do any further processing and put up with any minor clicks and pops. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrose Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 thank you old rose there seems a few tascams and all pretty reasonably priced. seems can get the dr40 even from $155+shipping from overseas or $250 delivered if bought locally. which is pretty affordable for a neat gadget and has both XLR and 1/4" connectivity it seems ? ooooh I am very very tempted The DR 40 is 4 channel and has XLR Mic inputs so if you're only using it to AD records it's overkill compared to the DR05. As mentioned above and just like recording to cassette tape you need to watch the input levels or risk a very hot digital recording. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Anderson Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Posted this before but a great read about converting vinyl on a mac http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/503-guide-converting-analog-vinyl-digital-files-using-macintosh/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 The DR 40 is 4 channel and has XLR Mic inputs so if you're only using it to AD records it's overkill compared to the DR05. As mentioned above and just like recording to cassette tape you need to watch the input levels or risk a very hot digital recording. well could have guessed ! went past the local band shop and picked up a DR40 from them they had in stock. $239 which is fine by me. they had the cheaper DR05 and DR07 but thought for $50-$80 more I'd go for the DR40 instead for the XLR or TRS inputs it provides. I have balanced outs on my pre, so can easily connect up with some stock XLRs rather than using some other cables adapters etc. Way am looking at it is rather than buying a AD converter or another phono stage/AD like the nad for similar money might as well get something like this that might have some other use too. few in a our family in the arts, music etc so could be a handy thing. and being a 4 track I reckon might have some benefits anyways havent tried it as yet ! so best not get hopes up too much hehe looks like quite a flash unit though. looks definitely very well made ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Posted this before but a great read about converting vinyl on a mac http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/503-guide-converting-analog-vinyl-digital-files-using-macintosh/ thanks the software side definitely need to explore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts