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November 17, 2006 - 2:02pm
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need help, how to record LP's to CD-R?
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Scooter, this is something I'm interested in doing, too. I don't own ANYTHING they make, but try going to Hagtech . Very intriuging!
Responses to my queries were so lacking that I decided to take the bull by the horns. So I hit the web and started 'surfing'. Unfortunately, due to budget limitations and a preference for buying locally, my choice came down to just Sound Blaster. In my ,I chose to go with the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum sound card. It will record at 96 mhz in 24 bit format so, on paper, it looks like it will do the job.
However, two brands that I absolutely loathe are Creative and Logitech. In the case of the X-Fi Platinum all my concerns have come true. Currently my computer won't install the Mixer controls for any of the inputs on the I/O Drive. The drive works, I just can't control it properly. Which means that it going to be an endless chain of emails, technicians suggesting "fixes" that I have already tried, and a level of frustration that may just put me in orbit.
BTW, regarding Logitech, I recently got one of their learning remotes in order to reduce my remote count. Worked fine for 2 weeks until it drained the batteries ??? !!! Does anyone else think that batteries in a remote should last longer that 2 weeks? In addition, get this, whenever you change the batteries YOU HAVE TO RE-PROGRAM THE REMOTE. How dumb is that. You have to connect to the internet, go to Logitech's web site, and then download your stored profile every 2 weeks when the batteries go dead. Methinks that they are selling my usage profile to somebody, which I consider an invasion of privacy. And then to top everything, after re-loading the firmware, re-loading the programming, the remote is dead as a doornail.
Sorry to vent but I fully expect that all of my free time for the next two weeks will be spent fixing bugs in a product that should have been debugged BEFORE they were sent out for sale. Then maybe I'll finally be able to actually start transferring my LP collection to CD-R's.
Bottomline, the creative product will do the job. However, if your using a computer that is less that 5 years old your probably going to run into some type of software conflict.
I've never found learning remotes to be worth the trouble. It's too hard to program them to include controls for each piece of equipment other than the basic ones. (I also do reviews for ultimateavmag.com, so the equipment may not stay in my system long enough to bother with programming its controls into a learning remote.)
But don't give up on Logitech completely. I use a Logitech wireless mouse and it's excellent, far better than the Microsoft--and no, you don't have to download anything when the battery dies.
Bob
Sorry about the shortage of replies. Had you been a Mac user, I and I suspect several others, could have given you lots of easy answers. PC's are meant for the business environment and for those "gamers". Anything Microsoft tries to do to make an entry into audio or graphics is, at best, ordinary. Go get a Mac Mini. They're cheap. After that, lots of good stuff you may want to do, like this current project can be easy and fun and produce the sort of results you want.
Happy Thanksgiving.
The problem is that I also use my computer to work at home. Ever tried finding mechanical design software for a Mac? Almost all the the CAD software that is affordable for a small business is PC based so I'll be stuck in the PC universe until I retire. What's odd is that my small investment in Apple has done well enough to buy me a powerbook but I have a very firm rule about NOT taking anything from my retirement fund.
As it is, I have managed to kludge my way around the problems and actually make a successful recording of an LP to a CD-R. Which has revealed another problem, my 20+ year old Dual has a low frequency rumble that I just can't ignore. My speakers may not be able to reproduce that rumble but it was certainly audible over my headphones. Now that I know it's there, it's gonna have to get fixed. Hopefully someone int he Detroit area deals in Rega turntables because the Planar 5 looks really good and is in my price range.
If it is any comfort to you, the same thing happened to me years ago - I wound up replacing an old turntable. The next step may be even more interesting to you, I wound up buying lots of new vinyl and upgrading my whole analog front end. I'm still at it. There are lots of great recordings out there - new high class pressings, great vinyl sound. Are you sure you want to spend lots of time and effort converting vinyl to CD?
I'm trying to reduce that amount of playing time that I put on my vinyl. Basically, reserve it for special occasions. I used to do that with cassette tapes but CD-R's are just so much more convenient. Also, while it's true that new pressings are available, it's not close to being the "full catalog" that was once available. Which means that you can't even special order a somewhat obscure record. You either take a chance on a used LP or forget about it.
"Which means that you can't even special order a somewhat obscure record."
Maybe so, maybe not. Try Chad Kassem's Acoustic Sounds (acousticsounds.com). They've got an impressive "vault" of used backlist stuff and they stand behind it. Chad started acquiring vinyl libraries when most believed vinyl was gone forever - replaced by the little silver discs. He got some great stuff. Not necessarily cheap, but not garage sale quality either.
Regards preserving your vinyl, I understand. It was that intention plus the desire to hear more of it that led to upgrading my analog front end.
As for your reference to a lifetime in the PC world, when it does come time to replace your home computer, the new Macs with the new chips run OS-X and Windows stuff too, you know - well, at least until Vista comes out, and I suspect thereafter too.
Did you get some Windows software to deal with pops and clicks and other unwanted stuff like that TT rumble ?
There are many routes to go here, if you want the cheap and easy, here it is:
Download Audacity (it is an opensource audio editor)
Go from your hi-fi's tape out to your computers standard input (usually a blue 1/8" jack). You can do this with a RCA to headphone jack.
So that is my cheap and easy solution. If you feel this is not hi-fi enough for you, there are many high quality line level inputs to USB devices and the sky is the limit in terms of price. Considering that you said you wanted to spend 500, I would look into an M-Audio device, these are pretty standard devices that are easy to install and work on both Mac and PC (yes you Mac guys might know something about these). I personally convert my LP's in this fashion:
Michell Techno Deck
Crimson 610 Pre-Amp
M-Audio Fast Tracks Pro
Windows XP box
Audacity
This gets the job done for me, however, before I had this sweet setup I always did it the "easy and cheap" way. Hope this helps.
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