Converting your records to CD's

Ron Whitworth · Post by **Ron Whitworth** » 22 Apr 2007 5:55 pm

I found a real interesting turntable.It hooks to your computer with a usb cable.Never seen one like this & don't know anything about it.Have any of you ever seen or used anything like this? Thanks for any help you can give me..Ron

http://www.needledoctor.com/Numark-TT-U ... egory=-110

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 23 Apr 2007 1:36 am

Ron, I think this new generation of turntables is primarily due to the DJ's spinning records at clubs. It is my understanding that you can spin a record and send the output to the PC (USB) for digital interfacing, which in the scheme of things also means recording .

If I had a need I am cetain I would get one..

I think they are pretty cool

tp

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 23 Apr 2007 2:17 am

The new "generation" of turntables are designed for interfacing to PC's so you can convert vinyl to CD's.

"standard" turntables need an RIAA preamp to recover the compression that vinyl is made with and to bring the volume level up to a useable level for PC analog (audio) inputs. The USB turntables have the RIAA equalization built in.

However, you will still need a "recording" program to first record to the hard drive and then make the audio CD's from what is on the hard drive. Do not go directly to CD, you can't make individual songs and if anything happens during the process the CD is a "coaster" (ruined) and you will have to start over.

On another subject, they are now making USB microphones for PC use. Regular mics (e.g. P.A., Karaoke, etc) do not have a high enough output level for PC analog sound cards and require a preamp. The USB mic solves that problem, too. I've seen Shure and Samsung USB mic's and there are probably others. "Computer" mic's are no good for singing as they are designed for "speaking" and the frequency response of a computer mic has a limited bandwidth.

Leroy Golden · Post by **Leroy Golden** » 23 Apr 2007 3:49 am

I have one and it works great! Audacity comes with the turntable...

Rick Johnson · Post by **Rick Johnson** » 23 Apr 2007 4:54 am

Leory
What is the street price on this turntable?
Does Audacity help remove any "pops and clicks"?

Rick

www.rickjohnsoncabs.com

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 23 Apr 2007 4:59 am

Audacity is a free download. Do a google search.

It has some noise removing capabilites - how well it works ??? as I use GoldWave for audio editing and noise/pop reduction.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 23 Apr 2007 5:17 am

I've converted a few hundred LP's to CD's. When my Dual turntable died, I went to Circuit City and bought a cheap analog turntable ($74) which has an RIAA pre-amp built in that can be switched in or out of line. I opted to switch it off and run the turntable through an old Technics receiver to pick up the RIAA EQ, and then into the PC sound card line input. With this setup, you can't tell the resulting CD's from the LP's. Same full sound and warmth. I did not try to remove any of the pops as it always ruins the fidelity when I do that.

Two things I noticed about all the USB turntables I looked at (read the reviews). They do not have an adjustable sound level (the software provides no such adjustment). They also have cheap plastic platters that are not heavy enough to regulate the speed very well and they also have cheap felt instead of rubber platter covers not allowing them to grip the LP's very well (they allow the LP's to slip).

Even the cheapo turntable I got at Circuit City has a heavy metal platter and a soft rubber platter cover. The speed regulation was so close I couldn't measure and speed deviation from 33 1/3. There's also a lot of good used turntable on ebay that will do a good job, many of them are Technics servo regulated models.

There's really no big advantage to using a USB turntable over an analog one. In fact if the USB turntable is poorly constructed, you are better off with an old fashioned analog turntable. Not to mention that the USB units are not exactly cheap.

Greg

Joe Harwell · Post by **Joe Harwell** » 23 Apr 2007 10:31 am

I used Audacity to do some conversion clean up.
The pops/clicks removal seemed to be ok or better.

There is a Noise Removal option, too. I never figured out how to use it efficiently. That may be what Greg was referring. It will destroy the fidelity.

Make a copy of the file to experiment with so if it gets destroyed you don't have to rerecord just in case.
And, if you don't like the results of an edit, just do an Undo from the edit menus or menu bar. You can do that until you do a Save function. Then the Undo is "zeroed" and you start over.

The turntable will work as long as the RIAA issues are addressed as mentioned. There are inexpensive RIAA devices available to interface a device to the computer that needs the amplification.

Leroy Golden · Post by **Leroy Golden** » 23 Apr 2007 1:17 pm

The turntable I bought was the Numark for $169 street and it came with a metal platter and a rubber mat and I think the Audacity software works OK if you get the hang of it but you do have to be conservative on cleaning up pops, but another nice feature that I liked was recording LP's at 45 RPM + 10% and converting to 33 1/3 later with the software this saves time on the initial recording.

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 24 Apr 2007 3:05 pm

I have one of these Numarks also, but I don't use the Audacity software, I use Magix software. I have used it for a few years and I like the way it works.

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 28 Apr 2007 10:36 pm

Not on topic, but maybe of interest to Audacity fans:

I was recently recording a radio show, after about two hours there was a power cut, and I thought the recording was lost.
I could see the Audacity files in the Temp folder, but couldn't access them.
On scouring the Audacity web site to see if recovery was possible, I found

http://www.mesw.de/audacity/recovery

Works like a charm

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 29 Apr 2007 9:14 pm

I've been using Philips CD Recorders to transfer LPs to CDs for years. You don't need a computer. I've also backed up all my reel-to-reel session tapes from the 60s and 70s the same way.

Bill Simmons · Post by **Bill Simmons** » 2 May 2007 2:04 pm

What is your opinion on this unit I'm thinking about buying?? It is an ION USB turntable for $107...

http://www.emartinc.com/catalog/product ... s_id=16177

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 3 May 2007 7:08 pm

Bill, that turntable looks identical to the Numark. They are probably made by the same company, but it is considerably cheaper than the Numark. Get it.

Steve Benzian · Post by **Steve Benzian** » 18 May 2007 4:43 pm

The best solution I've found is ADS Tech Instant Music. This small, inexpensive device will take a line out (RCA connectors) from your amplifier and has a USB output to your computer. It comes with software that is easy to use. Record vinyl, tape or anything plugged into your stereo. You can pause to flip over the record or record from different records or to skip tracks you don't want to record. If you have CD burner in the computer its a simple process to burn a CD immediately after recording.....also has noise reduction features and other editing features which I have not used nor are they needed.. I was able to make a custom CD for the band in 30 minutes....from 6 different old records.

http://www.adstech.com/products/RDX-150 ... id=RDX-150

I paid $49 from Tiger Direct. By the way, it records wave files that play in most home CD players and in the car.

Highly recommended.

Steve Benzian · Post by **Steve Benzian** » 25 May 2007 3:49 pm

One other thing about ADS Instant Music. The level of the signal from the amplifier my need to be adjusted. It works great as is for vinyl. For tape and CD's I needed to lower the signal using a mixer to avoid distortion. Thus you can make a CD from any source (vinyl, tape or CD )or all three on the same disc.

Ray Thomas · Post by **Ray Thomas** » 6 Jun 2007 11:29 am

I'v did quite a few, the cheap turn-table works good for me, some of the "clean up" programs help, others ??????, best to try several ones.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Converting your records to CD's

Converting your records to CD's

Audacity Pops/clicks and Noise Removal

Rendering LPs and tape to digital format