USB Turntable

[ik632]

I know I'm venturing into the realm of being sacreligious but I'd like to get a USB turntable for my father. He's into technology and wants it so he can convert his records to MP3's. Have any of you read any decent reviews on them? Basically I'm looking for one that has good quality but doesn't have to be overkill (meaning I'm not spending over $500 on it). There seams to be a few brands out there that range in the $150-$200 range, but I don't wan to get one that will end up just being cheap and leading to a ton of frustration.

Any thoughts out there?

[richidoo]

Do you have some links to the available brands? I know I have seen them in mail order catalogs that also sell rugs and massagers, but I don;t remember anything from audio related sellers. Actually maybe Audio Advisor might have had one in a catalog. They have online cat. too.

[Carlman]

Needledoctor has some tables for sale here:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/USB-Turntables  --- The Pro-Ject Debut is the only one I'd recommend of the bunch.

However, I'm not sure this would be much better than getting a nice cheap table, used, and then a cheap preamp connected to a good audio card's analog input on a PC... Then get some record-to-cd type software and go to town.

The initial setup will take some wiring and such... but someone may be able to lend you (or him) a turntable... You can use any old preamp or receiver with a phono input then connect the tape outs to the analog input of the PC. 

I looked into the USB or tables with analog-to-digital converters built-in and wasn't impressed with what I saw... I think the scenario above would yield as good or better results personally.

-C

[ik632]

I'm not sure if he's too concerned about the quality. I could always hook the current turntable up to the receiver then use the tape out to the line in on the computer. I have a nice sound card that I bought for the HTPC and it has received good reviews on it's capture quality. I guess I could always find a decent capture program and give that a whirl.

I think he's more interested in the novelty of having the device than actually using it. I'll look more into software for recording. It would be nice to have some recordings on the SqueezeBox from an analog source (and actually sound like it).

[Carlman]

The Pro-Ject will probably be a good move, then... it's at the top of your budget but will be convenient. 
Going from the Numark or other cheap-o's to something like the Pro-Ject w/ its included cartridge will make a noticeable improvement in playback quality. 
However, using an old turntable with a good cart, connected to the receiver, etc. might sound as good or better during playback.. I'm not sure about the digital conversion differences, though.

Converting vinyl to mp3 makes me want to cry....  However, the convenience is understandable... So, at least do a .wav and convert to .flac.  pretty please...     Otherwise, I doubt you'll hear anything analog about it other than some compressed clicks that represent the scratches and pops.

-C

[miklorsmith]

I think Carl is spot-on.  Converting records is going to be a    s   l   o   w   process.  If you're going to do it, quality would seem important even if it doesn't seem it at this moment.  Think long term.

Getting a good signal off the record is hard to do - note $50k+ turntables are out there.  Then, digital conversion is obviously not an easy task.  What are the chances that a cheap piece that you picked out next to an all-body massager (good one, Rich) is going to have good analog AND digital capabilities.

For the money and your know-how I think going the "performance" route makes a lot more sense.

[ik632]

I can agree with that. Maybe I'll hook it up to the nice sound card and rip the records as .wav myself and convert them to .mp3's for my dad. This way I'll have the comfort of knowing that they were done correctly and also provide him the uncompressed "originals" in case some better compression method comes along in the future.

[miklorsmith]

It might be possible to encode at an even higher rate.  .wav is the "uncompressed" 16/44.1 redbook standard but an analog waveform is much more, um, analog than that.  24 bit copies might sound pretty darn good.

[richidoo]

When I was ripping LPs a couple years ago, I recorded them to wav, and burned them to a redbook Audio-CD so it would play in a CD player. But I didn't close the disc. I then copied 320kbps mp3s into another volume on the disc. LPs have maximum length of 46 minutes, so there is always extra room for the compressed files. Then the whole disc can be duped for familial distribution.   I used Adaptec EZ CD creator version 4. It is piss poor for multi volume burning, I lost some kids photos using it, but something up to date would work fine. Just test it for playback before erasing the wavs from hard drive. And pick some good reliable CD-Rs. I like Sony brand, their media products have been reliable for me for 30 years.

The USB idea is pretty cool, maybe good enough for your dad's needs, but asking the gang at "AudioNervosa" can only give you one predicatable answer... !  haha

[miklorsmith]

Good point, Rich.   

[stereofool]

If you want an alternative to a USB turntable, then check out this site...

https://0175b54.netsolstores.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=6

[Carlman]

Cool! Great find, Steve... thanks.