This question gonna be complicated :)

starkiller · « **on:** 27 Apr 2010, 09:58 pm »

Well, i goofed and now I need to know what to do. As I previously posted I was after a USB turntable to hook up to my computer so I could check out the lp sounded before trying to sell them to supplement my income.I had gone this route since my incoming tube preamp only has 3 inputs and I am goingto use them for my cd player/tuner and computer.

However, I got impulsive and got a great deal on a NAD phono preamp. I thought, now i can get a decent used TT and hook it into the NAD and I will be good to go. Hah, somehow I forgot that the output from the NAD still has to go into the other preamp which still just has 3 inputs.

So, shall I just bite the bullet and resell the NAD and buy the Audio-Techinca which at least has a mag cartridge or is there a way of splitting the input that will have the tuner on it and add the NAD preamp to it? In other words, using a y-adapter for tuner/NAD preamp?

Any other ideas would also be appreciated!

Gopher · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 10:40 pm »

I don't think a Y-adapter would be a mechanically good solution. I don't even like using them to split one single.

There are input selector boxes out there, but depending on your systems configuration I'd be more tempted to just swap the RCAs.

I have done no research into USB phono pres, but I'm skeptical as to the sound quality and the user they are marketed towards, and suspect your NAD may sound better.

starkiller · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 11:43 pm »

My main emphasis here is to ascertain whether an lp is good enough sound wise to sell, clicks--pops---scratches---surface noise ect...once in a while it would be to record onto my harddrive, but this would be seldom and only because I am after something i use to have on lp but can't find on cd.

analognut · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:09 am »

You are to be commended for worrying about what you're selling. Many people don't.

Keep the NAD & DO NOT buy a USB TT. The USB TT is going to be garbage compared to having, in your own words: "a decent used TT" and the NAD. IMO you're literally miles ahead if you swap the inputs when you need the TT, and you might find you really enjoy the vinyl format.

Actually, I'd sell the CD player and keep everything else!

I have several nice disc players in the house, among them a Sony S55ES and a Sony DVP-S7700. (I know- old, but quality-built nonetheless). And I don't use any of them any more. I record my LPs into the computer at hi-rez and when I want to listen to music I play LPs from my HDD. I've also de-noised and down-graded them to Redbook CD specs, and saved individual tracks so I can use a player like i-Tunes to listen to my LP tracks. Handy!

starkiller · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:22 am »

Well at one point i had over 4,000 albums. All of them in nice clear plastic covers, all of them alphabetized, 99% of them mint. So i know how to protect them and clean them, still have a discwasher d4 original system in the house

Won't swapping inputs back and forth wear out the rca's on the preamp? My cd player is a Raysonic cd128 tube player and its not going anywhere, it sounds way too nice.

analognut · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:40 am »

Although it might be inconvenient you aren't going to "wear out" the RCAs. Go ahead, do the y-adapter thing if you like. You aren't in a critical situation here, you're having fun, right? Experiment, see what sounds good. The Y adapter is still a lot better than having a USB TT, and if the component on the other side of the"Y" is turned off it shouldn't cause any problems.

starkiller · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:43 am »

The thing holding me back on doing the NAD thing is that there are albums out there that I use to have that I want that never made it to cd. Thus, with the USB one, say the Audio-Technica which is miles better then all the other USB ones, I can preserve ones that I have been after since 1991.

analognut · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 02:22 am »

OK, I gotcha now. You can get an inexpensive audio interface that will connect your existing preamp to your computer. I went here:
musiciansfriend.com , typed usb audio interface in the search box and came up with 152 results. For around $100 or less you can get what you need and still have a far better rig than a USB TT would be. If it is confusing you can call them toll-free and they'll help you find what you need.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 02:45 am »

Sorry if I'm hijacking here, but it seems a little relevant to me...

Analognut -
what are you using to record your LPs? I just got a ton of vinyl from a friend, and a lot of it is stuff that I don't have on CD. I'd like go digitize some of it to play on my iPod and my main rig once in a while. The digital files won't replace the vinyl, but there's times when it'll be appropriate.

I don't want to record them at low quality or for background listening. Everything seems pretty complicated. Just wondering if you have a simple/straight forward way.

I was contemplating getting something like the Pro-Ject Phono Box USB, but I'm not sure of it's quality. I don't have the collection to justify something like the Benchmark ADC; just looking for something that sounds good and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Sorry if I'm hijacking.

analognut · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:25 pm »

Stu-
I use a Juli@ (no mistake, I did mean Juli@) soundcard, made by ESI, and most likely no longer available to record at 88.2kHz into a 24bit file. All of the processing is done with 32bit floating point math. The end result is that when the 24bit files are downsampled to 44.1kHz/16bit for CD the CDs are identical in sound to the LP. In other words, playing a CDR made from an LP has the same sweet sound as the LP.

The M-Audio Audiophile 2496 is another soundcard which got good reviews and is still available for $99. It can record any sample rate up to 96kHz. I would go to any Pro-Audio warehouse like Musiciansfriend.com or Sweetwater.com to find something.

Delta Wave · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 01:14 pm »

I use a digital out on my preamp going directly to my PC sound card. The preamp up-converts the LP signal to 24/96 where my sound card can further up-convert it to 24/192. You can also just use the analog tape loop going to your sound card analog input. You can also do it with a separate turntable and phono preamp. My sound card is a HT Omega Claro Plus+ which is an outstanding card, audiophile quality for less than $200. For ripping LPs to hi-res I use Adobe Soundbooth but have also used Nero Wave Editor. You can actually use just about any Wave editing software to do it, I just use those two for hi-res and it's easier to insert track splits. I would also recommend NOT using any of the filters, IE; de-hisser, clicks and pops, etc. as it will degrade the overall sound quality. It takes a few records to get into the swing of it and can be very tedious and time consuming but you'll have those hard to find albums archived in a quality digital format.

starkiller · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 05:56 pm »

Mike, one set of inputs, one set of outputs

Delta Wave · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 06:12 pm »

It's just a NAD phono preamp correct? You should be able to go directly to your PC with it. RCA>stereo mini connector>PC audio/aux/mic input.

starkiller · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 06:22 pm »

so don't even worry about the other preamp then...?

Delta Wave · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 06:57 pm »

I'd use the real preamp if you're going to use it for the sake of listening to music but if you're just going to check LPs then the PC and some good headphones would be fine.

starkiller · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 07:08 pm »

And if I want to record one of those albums?

told ya i was not very bright with today's tech

Wayner · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 07:13 pm »

There is another way to do this stuff. I have always had a stand alone CD recorder, the Philips CDR-765. It is now in the garage as my out there CD player. In it's place is a brand new CD recorder, the Tascam CC-222SLMKII. They also have just a CD recorder, but this one has the cassette to CD capabilities, that I need (as a service for friends) but the CD burner works very well.

The nice thing about this unit is that it has a RIAA phono input that you can plug your table into and record directly in same time. You manually add tracks in between song selections. You can use regular computer CD-Rs or I like to use CD-RWs so they can be reused. I then transfer the CD-R to my hard-drive where I use Cakewalk or Pyro to edit the music and store it as a bundle on my hard drive. You can also use your own preamp's phono preamp, as it will accept any line level input.

Not that this is the ultra way to go, but it's easy. It will be more dough for you, however.

Wayner

starkiller · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 07:20 pm »

Wayner

That's pretty cool, but like you said, extra $ trying to see if there is a one answer fits all type of thing...go through my incoming NAD preamp to play through computer room system AND hookup to computer for those occassional recording of the lp...

Wayner · « **Reply #18 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 07:41 pm »

I just don't like recording to the computer (ties it up), but I understand where you are coming from. My Tascam also makes me some money now and then, recovering cassette archival and putting it onto CD, so I had some justification to go this route. Lots of folks have special events or family stuff recorded on cassette and need someone to archive it to CD. I like doing it and it helps out others to have a way to keep those memories alive.

Wayner

Delta Wave · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Apr 2010, 12:55 pm »

Quote from: starkiller on 28 Apr 2010, 07:08 pm

And if I want to record one of those albums?

told ya i was not very bright with today's tech

You can use any .wav editing software to record. Just have to do some minor sound card configuring IE; switch it to 2 channel and turn off ALL ancillary features like EAX, etc. If you have Nero it works very well. What gets tedious is inserting tracks. It can be a real pain and it's very time consuming.