Just a few comments on the conversion process. Over the past 10 years I've converted about 2,000 LPs and open reels to digital, so have my process down fairly pat.
I see no big need to comment on the vinyl playback end of things - if you've been happy with your rig for playing records, it'll be just fine playing for the conversion. I've tried a number of different sound cards and convertors for the A-D process, and surprisingly I've always gone back to an older Soundblaster card. I kept expecting to find "better" and never did. (I've actually pulled that card forward through 3 PC upgrades.) I used Adobe Audition for recording and processing. It's a bit pricey, but I'm very comfortable with its operation and features and it supports everything I need done. I'll typically record one whole side of an LP at a time, then apply any processing and save the side as a single file. Then I open a new window, then cut and paste the first track from the whole side to the new file. I'll typically do a fade in/out to take out the between-track noise (and vinyl always has some), then save the first track. Repeat this by opening another new window and cut/paste the second track. Repeat until the album is done and then tag everything and then burn the album to CD or move it to the server. One note about processing. Click and pop removal can really improve the listening quality of a conversion. However, I usually ID the really egregious pops manually. I tend to be very light-handed with the automated pop removal as it can be the source of artifacts. One needs to adjust the auto settings with every album. Depending the type of music, the instruments played and how they were recorded, the auto correction can be easy with fantastic results or really screw things up. The worst auto-correction I ever had was the Harry James Sheffield album. Auto correction seemed to (very wrongly) think a close-miked trumpet needed a lot of fixing. The results weren't pretty and I ended up with doing no auto-processing and just manually taking out the worst pops. Converting your own analog material is a wonderful option. I have LPs and many original open-reels that simply don't exist on CD. (Stan Kenton at Drury College in 1975 or Marimba Ideal by Domingo Bethancourt anyone?) Alternatively, some of the CD releases of albums originally on LP have been so mangled in their attempts to modernize the sound that the LP is far preferable. Finally, converting your analog material is also a great way to become reacquainted with your own collection! -- mlsstl ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mlsstl's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=9598 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=93265 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
