Sup fellow AD members, I need to know what would be a good amp to use between my Sony turntable and my (PC) sound card. I am trying (if you havn't guessed it already) to convert my moms old 33s to CDs. I got all the cords and software and stuff I just need a little amplification. The sig is really low. I'll admit I'm a noob when it comes to turntables. I though the pre-amp would be a lot more powerfull (at least as powerfull as todays CD players). Any suggetstions or past experience are welcome! Thankz for readin, Ced
so do you have any type of receiver? or are you looking to get just a pre amp for the turntable? For me, I use a Kenwood receiver just to boost the phono signal to line level, then take the record out from the receiver into my MBOX.
Man I was hoping to not have to shell-out for a reciever. But I guess it will be worth it in the long run. Whats an "MBox"? Thankz for replying, Ced
This explination have just confussed me further. MBox? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_recording Is this what your talking about? Do I really need that? Your going above my head now...(and my disposible income) lol. http://www.digidesign.com/products/mbox/ Pro Tool's artillery is a little much for me, Ced
yeah the MBOX is a USB Powered audio interface for Pro Tools. Yeah for everyday stuff its way overkill. Its the industry leading audio recording/editing system. I just have the luxury of using it because I teach Pro Tools and have used it for about 6 years now. Its actually not that much...$500 for an MBOX and Pro Tools is a damn good deal. But as long as you have a decent soundcard it should sound fine. I know there are stand alone phono to line amplifiers (hell, even Radio Crap probably has them) but I would just go to a used goods store like a Salvation Army of thrift store. Pick yourself up an old tuner/receiver from the 80s for like $10, and as long as it has preamp outs it should work okay. Another idea (just thought of) would be finding an old DJ mixer. That might be easier to find then an old receiver, and the quality would be much higher. Don't know where you live, but if you have the "recycler" type ad magazines, that would be a great place to look. I'm sure you could pick up a good used one for under $25. If not let me know, I have an old one you could use.
Cool, cool, I live in Cincinnati (Ohio) though. Last time I checked you lived in LA. Thanks for the offer but I think Im just going to cheap-out (go with the Radio-Crap's overpriced crap) on this one since my mom only wants the:[bold]O'Jays - Family Reunion[/bold] on CD. Regards, Ced
O'Jay's-Family Reunion!! I can top that! When people found out that I could record some of their old LP's to CD I got all kinds of requests. Here I am doing all of my oldies like Pink Flloyd, Mott the Hoople, & stuff like that. This guy asks me if I can copy his old Partridge Family album (for his girlfriend he said). Well, I did it for him. It wasn't easy though. You have to play the damn thing to get on your computer! The Moral of this story? Don't let too many people know!! Good Luck
lol... thankz for the warning. The Radio Crap amp I think I'm going to use: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=42-2825 Will it work well enough ya think? Ced
yeah it should probably due the trick just as well as a receiver or mixer. Man, $25 though? The component parts for that are probably less than $3. Wow. But oh well, I'm sure it will work fine. No Partridge Family LPs for me, I collect classic rock stuff like Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rush, Guns N Roses...old jass like Miles Davis, John Coltrain, and classical LPs as well. Let me know how they turn out. What type of sound card are you using?
Man I'm a dumb. I just now figured out how to turn on the (already installed) pre-amp. It looks like I won't have to waste $25 after all. I don't know what my sound card is (its what ever came with my PC...lol) It does a very good job (with what I do) so I have never check it out or needed to upgrade. Cool, My moms got some really old R&B albums (33's): The Isley Brothers, O'Jays, Earth wind and Fire, Ohio Players, Steve Wonder, Arietha Franklin, and a lot of singels (45's) by people I have never heard of.
lol thats stange, I 've never heard of a turntable having a built in pre-amp. what kind is it? well at least you saved yourself $25
oh okay, so its one more designed for use with a home stereo system then? The ones I'm used to are DJ turntables, which just have low level outs. done any recording yet?
Yea, I think its going pretty well. I would like to figure out what my options are for cleaning the LPs. Some of them are very dirty (for playing purposes).
I picked myself up a stanton cleaner at Sam Ash for like 15 bucks. Its a soft brush and liquid combination cleaner, which works pretty well. Yeah definately make sure to clean as good as possible before ripping. You can also use regular luke warm water and a lint-free cloth or towel to clean them as well.
How's the transfer going? I'm about ready to start my LP collection as well but I still need a GOOD software program that seperates the tracks and reduces noise. What did you use? Anybody have any good suggestions?
well "good" quality really depends on your budget, and how many LPs you have to rip. In other words, if you only have a few to convert, its not worth dropping a few hundred bucks for a professional audio editor like Pro Tools that comes with its own hardware and everything. You've better off just using your existing sound card and a consumer audio app like sound forge or adobe audition for around $100. On the other hand, if you have tons of LPs to convert, in my opinion its well worth investing the money into a better audio editing system, as its something you can always use as you continue to get more vinyl. When combined with the WAVES plugins (unfortunately not too cheap) to reduce noice, crackle, and hum, you will get excellent results.
