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A to D Converter

steve6080

pfm Member
I've been thinking of digitising all my vinyl -- somewhere around 350-400 LPs so not a task to be taken lightly. I'd like to use WAV files on the home systems and also convert to 320kps MP3 for the car. So to the questions:
1. Has anyone any recommendations on an affordable ADC unit?
2. Is a Berhinger UFO 202 any good?
3. Are there any units, outside studio gear, that provide hi-res capability -- say 24/96Khz?
Thanks for any help/advice
Steve
 
There will certainly be other opinions here but if it were me I would record the vinyl to minidisc. I use a minidisc deck the JB 940 to record in a hi fi system context and a portable machine, the still sought after and expensive RH1, for uploading. On a recorded disc you can edit out gaps and put in titles. Then upload the minidisc using the RH1 to your pc using Sony Sonic Stage. Once uploaded you can convert the atrac digital tracks to WAv files and off you jolly well go.
The Behringer UFO 202 is a straightforward analogue to digital converter so you record straight onto your PC a complete WAV file. You then have tom do the editing and titling on the pc which is a right royal pain.
 
I use a pioneer pd509. Then move disc to computer, split and edit tracks and tabs. I prefer flac as all information there and smaller files.
 
Is a Berhinger UFO 202 any good?

Yes.

Are there any units, outside studio gear, that provide hi-res capability -- say 24/96Khz?

Yes, 24/96 is becoming pretty common even in consumer gear - but why would you need that if you are recording vinyl? Most studios only use 48 kHz.
 
I also use a Pioneer 509 and excellent it is as well. I prefer to sit down and mark the tracks by hand thus not needing to edit afterwards. I then rip via Vortexbox which in the vast majority of occassions picks up the correct artist/album/track name/art tags even through it's not an original CD. Saves a load of time BUT it is FLAC.

CHE
 
There will certainly be other opinions here but if it were me I would record the vinyl to minidisc. I use a minidisc deck the JB 940 to record in a hi fi system context and a portable machine, the still sought after and expensive RH1, for uploading. On a recorded disc you can edit out gaps and put in titles. Then upload the minidisc using the RH1 to your pc using Sony Sonic Stage. Once uploaded you can convert the atrac digital tracks to WAv files and off you jolly well go.

Why would you record in a lossy format, and then expand the result into a non-compressed format that doesn't have a standard tag format?

The Behringer UFO 202 is a straightforward analogue to digital converter so you record straight onto your PC a complete WAV file. You then have tom do the editing and titling on the pc which is a right royal pain.

Decent editing software on a PC is far more user-friendly and versatile than an outdated hardware device. But user interface is something we all disagree about, so whatever works for you...
 
1. Has anyone any recommendations on an affordable ADC unit?
2. Is a Berhinger UFO 202 any good?
3. Are there any units, outside studio gear, that provide hi-res capability -- say 24/96Khz?

If you want to consider something a step up from the Behringer, take a look at this...
 
Buy a reasonably decent USB ADC such as the Terratec DMX 192. You can buy one new for around £200 or less econdhand. Just make sure it's the 192 as the the earlier 96 had some issues and didn't perform anything like as well. It uses gold plated RCAs so it's easy to integrate into a domestic system.

Download a free copy of Audacity and away you go. Really easy once you get the hang of it and the results are superb, particularly once you get the dither and best rec levels sorted and record in 24bit 96kHz. Also best to steer clear of post-processing - i.e. cleaning up the sound. Invariably things sound best when left as they were.
 
Just seen the link to the ESI Dr Dac. That looks similar to the Terratec and probably worth further investigation.
 
Good value for money is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB Audio Interface.

Just over £100 new and will suffice and offer 24/96 capability.

As to why you would need that, why not? It's not as if it costs any extra and you don't end up having to brick wall the analogue recording.

The rips I did to CDR or Mini Disc were rather disappointing but then that was a good few years ago now. I can't reliably tell my 24/96 rips apart from the direct vinyl replay.
 
I've not done it for a while but in the past I've used my old Sony MDS-JA20ES Minidisc player set to record/pause so that it outputs through its digital optical (or Phono) connector. That way you're just doing the A-D conversion without compression. The output can be set to 24-bit. Then via optical into my iMac & Audacity.

The results are pretty good, but TBH it's too much of a fag to bother with.
 
I'd look at studio gear that records in high-res to SD cards, then take the SD card to your PC, import and edit with Audacity or similar.

Machines like those made by Tascam - slimline units that will fit into your HiFi like a cassette recorder does, rather than schlepping the PC into the same room

If you can get a good second-hand Alesis Masterlink ML9600, you'll have a fine hard-drive recorder that will record at anything from 16/44 to 24/96. However, the drawback to the 9600 is that the only way to get recordings off the HDD is to make CDs of them. You burn redbook 16/44 CDs which are playable anywhere, or data discs of any resolution, which have the audio written as AIFF files, and can be used to import to PCs or Digital Music Workstations. If you're happy to work at 16/44, then record to the 9600, make a redbook CD, then import that to PC for file copies, and use the CD as a playable copy or as a backup.

The editing facilities on the Alesis, however, are first-rate - far easier to do track splits and fades here, then move finished tracks to the PC via disc, rather than leaving the LP as one track and splitting on PC
 
I started out using an USB Interface, one of these I got 2nd hand of ebay for about £80

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BD31ZW/?tag=pinkfishmedia-20

Using Audacity on laptop for recording, editing and tagging in 24/48Khz and saving as FLAC

Found getting the two channels levels right and also constantly swapping cables a pain so now added a BEIS AD24QS and take SPDIF straight into the M-Audio. Still recording at 48K but the BEIS will go up to 192Kz. I also use the BEIS for connecting my TT to my DAC so I don't need a second amp for TT use. It requires soldering but Uwe Beis is a very nice and helpful chap to deal with.


http://www.beis.de/Elektronik/ADDA24QS/AD24QS.html
 
I reckon most of the above solutions require the computer in the same room as the turntable - and how many homes routinely have this? Very few, I'd suggest.

I can't imagine the OP wants to leave the computer in the music room for the duration, nor that they want to be moving it backward and forward, so I repeat the suggestion that he/she gets a decent digital recorder which allows a small digital storage device to be taken from the recorder between rooms to the PC for file transfer and editing.
 
I can't imagine not having a computer in the same room as my music system.
 
The Rega fono mini has an ADC. The phono stage is terrific value, so I'd imagine the ADC is of similar quality. I've used the Behringer, which is fine, but, after converting three LPs though it easier to stick with vinyl. Haven't looked back since.
 


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