Been away on holiday but was interested to see this thread on my return. I've been digitising vinyl as a hobby since 1994 (started on Windows 3.11 with just 1GB of disk space, using a very early release of Goldwave). I have tried a lot of tools over the years. For anyone interested in detailed notes, there's a page I wrote up here: http://delback.co.uk/lp-cdr.htm. I need to emphasise that it hasn't been updated for some time, but that doesn't alter the basic principles.
1. The first principle of vinyl ripping is this: it's a time consuming process. If the album you plan to rip is available on CD, buy the CD. Only rip the vinyl if: a). The CD version is a botched job (bad transfer, hypercompressed "remaster", tracks edited/remixed, etc); or b). The CD is rare and costs a fortune; or c). You are some kind of weirdo (like me) who actually enjoys the vinyl ripping process. Of course, if the album isn't available on CD, then you will need to rip it yourself (or find a good quality downloadable needle drop on the net). 2. The second principle is this: automatic cleanup tools can often make things worse. Sure, they'll remove some clicks and pops, but often leave behind undesirable artefacts. If you're serious about doing a good needle drop, you need to do a lot of manual restoration. (Which makes the process even more time-consuming, which reinforces point 1, above). 3. Regarding the 16 v 24 bit argument: A few people have commented that recording at 24 bit is worthwhile if you're going to do any post processing. However, I would make the following points: a). There are some useful tools around which only support 16 bit. By recording at 24 bit you deny yourself access to these tools. b). The surface noise of vinyl is so high that even if you run several DSP passes over a 16 bit recording the rounding/truncation artefacts still won't encroach into the vinyl noise floor. So my conclusion is that it is perfectly safe to do vinyl rips and process them entirely in the 16 bit domain. -- cliveb Transporter -> ATC SCM100A ------------------------------------------------------------------------ cliveb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=348 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
